German Chancellor Friedrich Merz calls on Putin to stop the war during his visit to Kiev

From the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sent a direct call to Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop attacks on Ukraine and show readiness to hold negotiations. Mertz said in Kiev today, Sunday (October 4, 2026): “Mr. Putin, stop this senseless war. We are ready to hold talks, and we are ready to talk together about ending this war. But these barbaric attacks on civilians in Ukraine must stop.”

Mertz inspected the building of the Academy of Sciences in Kiev, which was bombed by a drone attack, accompanied by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Meanwhile, Russian attacks caused sirens to sound several times, and a bridge north of the capital was bombed early in the morning. Standing in front of the ruins of the academy, Mertz said, "Attacks like those that occurred last Monday clearly demonstrated the absurdity of this war."

The German Chancellor also referred to what he described as daily attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure at a time when the country is preparing to face the winter, adding: “I address my appeal again to the Russian leadership and the Russian head of state: Stop this war. We can talk, but only when the weapons are silent, and these weapons must be silent.”

The drone collided with the academy building in broad daylight. The strike and the resulting fire resulted in the destruction of two floors of the historic building, the death of a woman, and the injury of about six other people. A series of attacks that continued around the clock targeted residential areas, gas stations, schools, and railway and communications infrastructure.

For its part, the Russian army spoke of targeting facilities belonging to Ukrainian telecommunications companies. The headquarters of the Ukrainian telecommunications company "Ukr Telecom" is located in close proximity to the academy. The German Embassy building is only about 140 meters away from the site of the drone crash. Sirens sounded across Kiev, calling on residents to take cover, shortly after Meretz arrived amid tight security measures, with warnings of approaching Russian attack drones.

Chancellor Mertz is accompanied on his visit to Kiev by Economy Minister Katerina Reiche and 10 businessmen working in the defense and energy industries. The advisor carries with him tangible aid for Ukraine, as the delivery of thousands of interceptor drones is scheduled to begin soon, which can be used to confront the fast Russian combat drones, which are powered by jet engines, which makes them extremely dangerous.