President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance of Germany Lars Klingbeil. This was his first visit to Ukraine since assuming office, which Lars Klingbeil began by honoring the fallen Ukrainian heroes at the Wall of Remembrance on Mykhailivska Square.
“For us, this is such an important signal. Thank you very much for that. We are grateful to Germany – to the government and the people of Germany – for their very strong support since the beginning of this war. This is the second largest amount of aid in the world and the largest in Europe. The total aid amounts to around 50 billion during the war. This is an extremely strong support for our people, both military and civilian,” emphasized the Head of State.
One of the key topics of discussion was strengthening Ukraine’s air defense. Work is underway on the procurement of two additional Patriot systems, as well as the delivery of additional German-made IRIS-T air defense systems.
The meeting also focused on financing Ukraine’s domestic drone production – including long-range drones and interceptors – and on the opportunities offered by the PURL program for procuring U.S. weapons for Ukraine. Germany was one of the first countries in Europe to join its implementation and has already allocated $500 million.
The President and the Vice Chancellor paid special attention to diplomatic efforts for peace, strengthening sanctions against Russia, and security guarantees. Relevant diplomatic work is ongoing, particularly at the level of national security advisors. Ukraine counts on Germany to be among the leaders in developing and implementing these security guarantees.
“We need security in the air and at sea, not just on land. So there are many things we are working on,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Head of State also stressed that one of the key elements of the future security architecture is a strong Ukrainian army, which requires financial support, the development of weapons production, and military training. The parties discussed continuing and expanding training programs for Ukrainian defenders in Germany.
Lars Klingbeil noted that discussions on security guarantees have only just begun. It is important that the United States has sent a clear signal of its readiness to participate.
“Right now, it’s about understanding together what the final result should be. There has to be a certain package that guarantees that Russia will not attack again – that the Russian Federation will fear attacking Ukraine. And that is what we need to discuss,” said the Vice Chancellor.
The meeting also covered support for Ukraine on its path toward European Union membership and the importance of opening negotiating clusters this year.