Andrii Danyk
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Germany's Merz visits Kyiv, announces €1.3B+ Ukraine support package and calls on Putin to stop the war
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit on 4 October, meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and announcing a new comprehensive German support package for Ukraine worth more than €1.3 billion, including about €1 billion in military aid and around €350 million for the energy sector ahead of winter. During the visit the two leaders honored fallen defenders at Maidan Nezalezhnosti, toured the National Academy of Sciences building damaged by a Russian drone strike on 28 September, and witnessed the signing of 15 bilateral agreements with a combined value above €8.5 billion. Merz publicly called on Vladimir Putin to end attacks on Ukraine and said Germany is ready to negotiate once weapons fall silent, and announced plans to host a Coalition of the Willing meeting in Berlin in winter with France and the United Kingdom.