In Kyiv, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President of the German Bundestag Julia Klöckner.
The Head of State thanked Germany, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and personally Julia Klöckner for their support of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted the Bundestag’s resolution marking the fourth anniversary of the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“We are also grateful for the energy support throughout this long, difficult winter, with hundreds of challenges over these months. And we are grateful that we were not alone – Germany made its contribution as well. Gratitude comes from all Ukrainians. And I’ll be frank – there’s simply no time for us to relax. We have already prepared energy resilience plans for the coming year,” the President said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Julia Klöckner discussed the continuation of Germany’s military assistance to Ukraine, which will reach a record EUR 11.5 billion this year. Particular focus was placed on strengthening air defense, further developing the PURL initiative, and the need for additional contributions.
They also addressed scaling up joint drone production. This will strengthen not only Ukraine and Germany but Europe as a whole. The President noted that in February he visited the first joint Ukrainian-German drone production facility and called it an example of real mutual reinforcement.
The parties also covered the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf region. The President of the Bundestag assured that these developments would not affect Germany’s support for Ukraine.
“While the world is looking towards Iran, we Germans are looking towards Ukraine; we have not forgotten you. And that’s why I deliberately came here this time – to clearly say that, in the fifth year of the war of aggression you are enduring, we are not growing tired. And we know this is not just Ukraine’s fight. It is about more – territorial integrity, self-determination, democracy. And we also understand that both Germany and other European countries remain in Russia’s crosshairs,” Julia Klöckner said.
The discussion also addressed preparations for the next meeting between the delegations of Ukraine, the United States, and Russia, which had to be postponed due to developments surrounding Iran.
A particular focus was on European matters, including Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, unblocking the 20th sanctions package, and implementing the agreement to provide Ukraine with EUR 90 billion over the next two years.
“Germany, I believe, made one of the strongest contributions to the political decision at the end of last year to allocate EUR 90 billion to strengthen Ukraine in its fight for independence. Thank you,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.