Germany will help Ukraine build its own long-range weapons, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday, May 28. The new weapons won’t be limited in range, meaning Ukraine will be free to strike military targets inside Russia. They’ll be developed with support from German companies and built in both Germany and Ukraine.
“This is the first step in producing long-range weapons together,” Merz said at a press conference in Berlin alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Germany’s defence ministry confirmed the plan, saying some of the systems could be ready for use in Ukraine within weeks. A large number of units are expected to be produced by the end of the year.
This marks a shift in Germany’s approach. Earlier this week, Merz said Germany and other Western countries would no longer restrict how far the weapons they supply to Ukraine can reach.
Merz said the goal is to put pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table. Helping Ukraine build its own long-range weapons, he explained, is meant to weaken Russia’s military and force Moscow to consider peace talks.
