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• Wed May 28 2025

German chancellor promises to help Ukraine produce long-range missiles

10 hours ago Share Save Rachel Hagan & Jessica Parker BBC News, in London and Berlin Share Save

Anadolu via Getty Images Germany's new chancellor (R) greeted Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky to Berlin on Wednesday

Germany's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has told Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky that Berlin will help Kyiv produce long-range missiles to defend itself from Russian attack. "We want to talk about production and we will not publicly discuss details," he said, when asked by reporters in Berlin if Germany would supply Kyiv with its Taurus missiles. Merz took office earlier this month, promising to beef up German support for Ukraine, and said this week that there were "no longer" any range restrictions on weapons supplied by Kyiv's Western allies. The Taurus has a range of 500km (310 miles) and could reach deeper into Russian territory than other far-range missiles.

Although Merz did not refer to the Taurus by name during his press conference with the Ukrainian leader, he did say a "memorandum of understanding" on long-range missiles would be signed by the German and Ukrainian defence ministers later on Wednesday. The Kremlin has warned that any decision to end range restrictions on the missiles that Ukraine can use would be a quite dangerous change in policy that would harm efforts to reach a political deal. However, Merz has since emphasised that a decision on lifting range restrictions was taken by Western allies months ago. The new chancellor is seeking to cut a far more assertive figure on support for Ukraine than his predecessor, Olaf Scholz. So far, he is succeeding. There may be many questions about the detail of Merz's missile co-operation plan but his willingness to make big announcements that might antagonise the Kremlin stands in stark contrast to the cautious tone of the last government. During his press conference with Zelensky, Merz promised Ukraine continued support for as long as necessary, warning Moscow that its refusal to take part in further peace talks would have "real consequences". Zelensky has called for talks aimed at reaching a settlement on the war to involve three leaders - "Trump-Putin-me" - although he added he was ready for any format. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not dismiss the idea out of hand but said such a meeting could only take place after "concrete agreements" had been reached between "the two delegations."

Getty Images Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of delaying the peace process

Although Ukraine and Russia held their first direct talks for more than three years in Istanbul earlier this month, the meeting involved low-level officials and they were only able to agree on a prisoner exchange, which took place last weekend. On Wednesday, however, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow is indeed ready to hold a second round of peace talks with Kyiv. According to a statement posted on state news agency Tass, he said the next round of talks could take place on 2 June in Istanbul where Russia would present a "memorandum" outlining its peace terms. "We hope that all those who are sincerely, and not just in words, interested in the success of the peace process will support holding a new round of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations," Lavrov said. Lavrov added he had briefed US counterpart Marco Rubio on the proposal. Lavrov had also previously made clear that Moscow was looking to guarantee Ukraine's "neutral, non-aligned and non-nuclear status". Ukraine said they were not opposed to further meetings but "the next meeting must yield results". In a post on X, Ukraine's defence minister Rustem Umerov said the country had already submitted its peace terms to Russia and demanded Moscow do the same. US President Donald Trump indicated this week that his patience was wearing thin with Russia's failure to move forward with further talks. He accused Vladimir Putin of "playing with fire", after a deadly Russian missile strike that killed 13 Ukrainians, including children. However, Russian officials suggested that Trump was not sufficiently informed on the context of the conflict. Ukraine's president has urged Washington to impose sanctions on Russia's banking and energy sectors. He said he had discussed the issue with Trump, adding that the US president had "confirmed that if Russia does not stop, sanctions will be imposed".