German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visits Kyiv in defiance of Russian warnings

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived on an unannounced visit to Kiev, today, Sunday (October 4, 2026), in a clear challenge to Russia, which yesterday issued a warning to foreigners and diplomats against remaining in the Ukrainian capital, declaring that it would be subjected to new, large-scale air strikes. Upon his arrival at the Kiev train station, Mertz said, "If Russia is not stopped, its war machine will turn against us sooner or later."

Shortly after the arrival of the German curtain, a bridge over the Dnieper River in Kiev was attacked by a drone, according to what the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said in a post on the Telegram application. He posted that an object collided with “the roof of the North Bridge. Emergency services went to the scene.”

As a reminder, Moscow had previously taken a similar measure last May, but that did not prevent the presidents and politicians of countries supporting Ukraine from continuing their visits to Kiev.

Additional aid package

Merz is accompanied on this visit by Economy Minister Katharina Reiche, along with ten business leaders in the defense and energy sectors. The aim of the visit is to provide a new aid package to Ukraine, with a total of one billion euros from the already approved budget funds, in addition to another 350 million euros to repair and rebuild destroyed power plants.

According to government sources, Meretz intends to provide pledges of further financial and military support to Ukraine, including the delivery of thousands of interceptor drones and accelerating the pace of production of long-range weapons. "I will tell President Volodymyr Zelensky today: You can continue to count on our help," Mertz said.

The Ukrainian capital recently witnessed heavy air strikes, while Ukrainian officials appealed for more air defense ammunition to confront attacks by Russian drones and missiles. Ukrainian President Zelensky told Reuters on Saturday that his country's armed forces would intensify their attacks on oil refineries in Russia in response to what he called Moscow's "new doctrine" of escalating attacks on civilian infrastructure, which he said was aimed at forcing residents of Kiev and other cities to flee. The same accusation is directed by Russia against Ukraine.

Strengthening European defenses

It is expected that a large part of German support will be focused on the rapid production of anti-jet drones, while Quantum, a German defense technology company, announced the “success” of the experiments it conducted on its products.

Since the summer, Russia has been using dozens of drones and high-speed attack jets daily to target Ukrainian sites. In April 2026, Quantum and the Ukrainian manufacturer WYY Drones announced the establishment of Quantum WYY Industries, a joint venture to produce the Strela interceptor drone and related air defense technologies.

The agreement also includes the joint development and production of weapons with a range of more than a thousand kilometers, which Ukraine can use to launch attacks deep inside Russia.

Government officials said increased cooperation would allow money and technology to flow into the Federal Republic, as weapons could be produced and defenses strengthened against drones targeting critical infrastructure.