Germany and Ukraine have agreed to expand defense cooperation, including a large-scale agreement to jointly produce drones, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The deal was agreed during President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Berlin.
Zelensky said the contract has the potential to become the largest agreement of its kind in Europe.
For his part, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed the importance of the Ukrainian defense industry, which, according to him, after years of war has become one of the most innovative in the world. "With our support, we are strengthening both German and European defense capabilities," Merz said.
According to the German government, Berlin has provided around 55 billion euros in military aid to Kiev since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022, with an additional 11.5 billion euros set aside in the current budget.
Some of the new commitments include funding for air defense systems, including American Patriot missiles and launchers for the German IRIS-T air defense system.
The drone agreement provides for the creation of a joint venture to supply thousands of unmanned aerial vehicles to the Ukrainian armed forces. Germany will also invest hundreds of millions of euros in developing capabilities to strike deep behind enemy lines.
Zelensky said teams from both sides were still working out the scope and details of the drone deal, which builds on existing cooperation between German and Ukrainian companies. "Germany is our main partner, so I am confident that we will conclude one of the largest, or indeed the largest, agreement of this kind in Europe," he said.
Meanwhile, Merz stressed that Europe's role is indispensable in any future talks to end the war with Russia, with a meeting planned at the level of national security advisers, to which the United States will be invited.
Washington's efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine have stalled since the conflict in the Middle East with Iran began, Reuters notes.