Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius have signed an agreement on financing long-range weapons of Ukrainian production, according to a press release from the German defense ministry.
“Germany will finance the production of long-range weapons directly on the territory of Ukraine,” the German defense ministry said. The two ministers signed the agreement in Berlin. The ministry added that “this agreement is also a continuation of Germany’s previously announced promise to invest in weapons production in Ukraine.”
The German Defense Ministry said that Ukraine’s defense industry has untapped production capacities and technical potential for manufacturing modern systems.
This agreement was signed as a Ukrainian delegation headed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Berlin on 28 May. Zelenskyy held a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to reportedly discuss Ukraine’s capability to respond symmetrically to Russian strikes. The discussion focused specifically on weapons production, including long-range weapons.
“It is important that we work together to bring peace closer and give our people more security. And it is important that we try to be as effective as possible in this,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media after the meeting.
At a press conference on 28 May, German opposition leader Friedrich Merz announced the expansion of military aid to Ukraine.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov signed an agreement regarding the provision of ammunition packages for various weapon systems. Ammunition for important air defense systems, land weapon systems, and small arms will be delivered soon. The support measures for Ukrainian armed forces have a total scope of around 5 billion euros ($5.7 billion). The money comes from funds already approved by the Bundestag, according to the ministry.
The agreement also includes German financing for the production of long-range weapon systems in Ukraine. Merz also confirmed that there would be no restrictions for Ukraine regarding the use of long-range weapons against Russia.
The agreement represents a shift toward direct investment in Ukrainian weapons manufacturing rather than just weapons transfers. Germany’s commitment extends beyond immediate military aid to building Ukraine’s long-term defense capabilities.
These German cruise missiles can strike targets at distances of 500 kilometers. Before becoming chancellor, Merz signaled he would overturn his predecessor Olaf Scholz’s ban on delivering the missiles to Ukraine.
Kyiv has called for a long time upon Germany to provide the weapons to strike targets deep inside Russian territory. Scholz had ruled out the move due to escalation fears. Merz has not yet approved the deliveries. The Taurus missile policy has become a point of contention between the CDU/CSU and their Social Democratic coalition partners.
The German chancellor declared earlier this week that Berlin and other Western partners have lifted all range restrictions on arms provided to Ukraine. Some viewed this as a signal of an incoming policy change on Taurus missiles.
On 26 May, Merz said that weapons supplied by Germany to Ukraine no longer face range restrictions for use against Russian territory. He clarified that the US, Britain, France and Germany lifted restrictions on Ukraine’s long-range strikes against Russia several months ago.
German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil responded that the government coalition had made no new agreements about changing course on lifting restrictions for Ukraine’s long-range strikes on Russian territory.
Taurus missiles represent the only long-range German weapons Ukraine has requested from Germany. Ukraine previously received long-range missiles from the US, UK, and France. These included ATACMS, Storm Shadow, and SCALP missiles. Ukraine was initially permitted to deploy them only against Russian military forces in occupied Ukrainian territories.