Germany will finance the production of Ukrainian long-range missiles

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that his country will finance the production of Ukrainian long-range missiles.

He said this at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The defense ministers of Ukraine and Germany will sign a statement of intent to finance Ukrainian production of long-range systems. Kyiv will not be restricted in the use of long-range weapons, Ukraine will be able to defend itself and strike military targets outside the territory of Ukraine.

According to Friedrich Merz, this will be the beginning of a new form of military-industrial cooperation between Ukraine and Germany. Production can take place both in Ukraine and in Germany.

However, Friedrich Merz did not announce the transfer of long-range Taurus missiles and refused to answer a direct question about their supply.

Before the leadersʼ meeting, the German newspaper BILD reported that the German government plans to provide the Ukrainian arms industry with millions of euros for its own development and mass production of cruise missiles with a range of up to 2 500 kilometers. According to the publication, Ukraine is developing such systems and is already testing some of them.

• The previous German Chancellor Olaf Scholz opposed the transfer of Taurus to Ukraine, fearing escalation with Russia. At the same time, in February 2024, the German Bundestag voted to recommend providing Ukraine with long-range weapons, which could be seen as a call to transfer Taurus. But the final word was with Scholz.
• In April 2025, then-future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed that he was in favor of transferring Taurus long-range missiles to the Ukrainian military. He is now avoiding the topic.

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