German Chancellor Merz makes surprise visit to Chiiu... Additional support of 1.3 billion euros announced for Ukraine

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made a surprise visit to Kiev on the 4th (local time), reaffirmed Germany's support for Ukraine and announced a large-scale additional support plan.

Chancellor Merz, who arrived in Kiev by train early this morning, said in a statement distributed by the German government, "I came to Kiev today because Ukraine will need our full support in the coming weeks. If we do not stop Russia, their war machine will soon be aimed at us."

German media reported that Chancellor Merz's unannounced visit to Kiiu was accompanied by German Economy Minister Katharina Reiche and 10 executives from German defense and energy companies.

In relation to this, Chancellor Merz emphasized that the cooperation relationship between Germany and Ukraine is not one-sided and that "German and Ukrainian companies are jointly developing technologies that benefit both countries, and this makes us safer and stronger."

After meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Merz held a joint press conference and announced a total of 1.3 billion euros (about 2 trillion won) in additional support.

Of this, approximately 1 billion euros (approximately 1.5 trillion won) is military support, including long-range strike weapons, combat drones, and satellite technology. 350 million euros (approximately 530 billion won) is energy support needed for power plants, substations, and repair work in preparation for the winter.

In a separate post posted on

President Zelenskyy also commented on Chancellor Merz's visit at a joint press conference that day, saying, "It is an important signal of support for Ukraine and the courage of Germany and Europe as a whole."

Prime Minister Merz said joint production to intercept Russia's jet-powered drones would be funded, and emphasized that technological breakthroughs have been made in recent weeks and the pace of production is accelerating.

President Zelenskyy noted that Russia launched 900 jet-propelled drones this week alone, and that Ukraine was only able to shoot down about half of them.

On this day, the two leaders toured the National Academy of Sciences building in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, which was damaged in a Russian airstrike last month. During Prime Minister Merz's stay, air raid sirens rang repeatedly in Chiihu, creating tension. This morning, a bridge over the Dnipro River in Kiev was damaged by a Russian military drone.

At the scene of the attack on the National Academy of Sciences, Prime Minister Merz said, "These barbaric attacks against Ukrainian civilians must stop," and said to President Vladimir Putin, "We are ready for dialogue."

Chancellor Merz's trip to Chiiu came the day after Russia warned foreigners and diplomats to evacuate while warning of "large-scale" airstrikes targeting the city.

Russia has been escalating its offensive targeting the Ukrainian capital in recent days, including attacking several bridges and energy infrastructure over the Dnipro River that runs north to south of Kiev.

Meanwhile, in a separate post on social media, Prime Minister Merz said the next few weeks were "crucial" for Ukraine, which is why she decided to visit the country to show support.

He wrote, “Germany’s security also depends on the outcome of this war,” and “We are helping Ukraine because we also have important interests at stake.”