German Chancellor Mertz makes a surprise visit to Kiev and promises to increase military and financial assistance to Ukraine

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) German Chancellor Mertz arrived in Kiev on the morning of Sunday (October 4) local time and began a short visit to Ukraine. Upon arrival, Chancellor Merz stressed that "if Russia cannot be stopped, its war machine will turn on us sooner or later."

Later, Mertz told Ukrainian President Zelensky, "You can continue to rely on our assistance." Germany is one of Ukraine's most important supporters.

Chancellor Merz also noted the importance of the partnership with Kyiv, saying that "German and Ukrainian businesses are jointly developing technologies that both countries can benefit from," which will make both countries "more secure and stronger."

Mertz's unannounced visit to Ukraine was accompanied by Federal Economy Minister Katherina Reiche and ten business leaders from the defense and energy sectors.

The Russo-Ukrainian war is about to enter its fifth winter. Currently, Russia is intensifying its bombing of cities, residential buildings and power plants. Mertz plans to provide thousands of interceptor drones to the Ukrainian military to enhance its air defense capabilities to deal with the extremely fast Russian jet combat drones. Germany plans to jointly produce various types of drones with Ukraine in both countries. In addition, the two countries will jointly develop and produce so-called "stand-off weapons" with a range of more than 1,000 kilometers, which can be used to attack Russia's rear supply lines.

Germany will allocate 1 billion euros to aid Ukraine and an additional 350 million euros to repair and rebuild destroyed power plants.

Berlin government sources emphasized that the purpose of this move is not just to provide military support to Ukraine; the enhanced cooperation will also benefit Germany, because funds and technology will flow back to Germany.

Russia continues attacks on Kyiv bridge

This trip was the German Chancellor's most dangerous trip since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war. On Sunday, while Mertz and his party were still in Kiev, Russian drones attacked the North Bridge over the Dnieper River again, causing no casualties.

Hours before his special train arrived in Kiev, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned foreign tourists and diplomats on Saturday (October 3) to leave the city, especially areas near military installations and government buildings. The Russian Foreign Ministry said anyone who ignored the warnings would face the "fatal danger" of "large-scale Russian retaliatory strikes." On Friday, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko called the situation in the city "extremely critical" and warned that Kiev was in danger of being "dismembered." Recently, Russia has attacked several bridges and energy infrastructure on the Dnieper River.

For some time, Ukrainian drones have also attacked military, energy and industrial infrastructure in Russia, causing a tight supply of Russian energy. According to Russian news, within about 12 hours from the evening of October 3 to the morning of October 4, the Russian military intercepted and destroyed 559 Ukrainian drones. This data has not yet been confirmed by a third party.

German support for military aid to Ukraine dwindles

In Germany, public support for large-scale military aid to Ukraine is dwindling, and populist parties on both the left and right are making political capital from this development, putting pressure on the centrist government led by Mertz.

According to the "German Trend" survey (ARD-DeutschlandTrend) conducted by German television, the number of Germans who believe that military aid to Ukraine is "too much" is increasing year by year, reaching 31% in 2023 and 36% in 2024. Similar figures released in September this year show that the number of Germans who believe that military aid to Ukraine is too much has risen to 42%.