Germany offers Ukraine help with long-range missiles, no limits, to hit Russia

New German chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged on Wednesday, 28 May, to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any Western-imposed limitations on their use and targets, to help the Kyiv government repel .

Some of the advanced weapon systems that Kyiv's allies have supplied to Ukraine thus far during the three-year war have been subject to range and target restrictions — a fraught political issue stemming from fears that if the weapons struck deep inside Russia, then Kremlin might retaliate against the country that provided the missiles and draw NATO into Europe's biggest conflict since World War II.

Standing beside visiting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, Merz now said that under an intensified cooperation agreement, Germany “will strive to equip the Ukrainian army with all the capabilities that truly enable it to successfully defend the country”, including upgraded domestic missile production.

Ukraine and Germany have reached new agreements on joint defence production projects. There will be investment in weapons manufacturing in Ukraine, particularly in drone production, which is crucial for saving the lives of our soldiers.

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 28, 2025

After the United States, Germany has been the biggest individual supplier of military aid to Ukraine.

“Ukraine will be able to fully defend itself, including against military targets outside its own territory” with its own missiles, Merz said at a joint news conference.

Hours after Merz's pledge, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov invited Ukraine to hold direct peace talks with Moscow in Istanbul on 2 June.

In a video statement, he said Russia would use the meeting to deliver a memorandum, setting out Moscow's position on “reliably overcoming the root causes of the crisis”. He also said that any Russian delegation would again be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.

🎙 FM Sergey #Lavrov:

❗️ Our delegation, led by Vladimir Medinsky, is ready to present memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation and provide the necessary clarifications during a second round of resumed direct talks in Istanbul next Monday, June 2.

🔗 https://t.co/OaSkUeP6Ek pic.twitter.com/LnMuj1le5e

— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) May 28, 2025

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy tweeted about his meeting with his German counterpart, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whom the Ukrainian leader thanked for saving lives and delivering air defence systems.

He also mentioned the German president’s patronage of the Chernihiv region. "Thanks to this support, four shelters are already being equipped in communities across the region."

I held a meeting with the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. I thanked him for Germany’s European leadership in providing defense support to Ukraine, especially for its contribution to saving lives and delivering air defense systems.

We discussed our cooperation at… pic.twitter.com/mhlUZWEeIw

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 28, 2025

"We hope that in more than just words will support a new round of direct Russian–Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul,” Lavrov said.

President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, 28 May, that he is holding off on new sanctions on Russia because he doesn't want to interfere with attempts to negotiate an end to its invasion of Ukraine.

“If I think I'm close to getting a deal, I don't want to screw it up by doing that,” Trump said, adding that he will know in about two weeks if Russia is willing to reach a deal to end the war.

Low-level delegations from Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in three years in Istanbul on 16 May. The talks, which lasted two hours, brought no significant breakthrough, although both sides agreed to that was carried out last weekend and freed 1,000 captives on each side.

Germany doesn't mention its Taurus cruise missiles

Merz declined to say whether Germany will supply its advanced Taurus long-range cruise missile to Ukraine — a request of long standing from Kyiv and a step that Berlin has resisted.

However, the German government had also said it would no longer provide full details of the weapons it's supplying to Ukraine, unlike the previous Olaf Scholz's administration, citing the need for "strategic ambiguity".

Taurus missiles have a range of up to 500 kilometres (310 miles). The German- and Swedish-made missiles, which are equipped with stealth technology, would be able to reach targets deep in Russia from Ukrainian soil, including the Black Sea. Ukraine wants the missiles to complement the long-range Storm Shadow missiles sent by Britain and France's nearly identical Scalp cruise missiles.

The decision not to commit to giving Taurus missiles to Ukraine was a “big disappointment”, said lawmaker Roderich Kiesewetter, a senior member of Merz's party, the Christian Democratic Union.

Merz loves “very strong personal statements”, but is not able to back them up with support from his coalition partners, Kiesewetter told the Associated Press.

“We have a Moscow connection in Germany,” Kiesewetter said, suggesting some politicians are in favour of Ukraine ceding territory to Russia to end the war, along with lifting some sanctions.

Asked about Germany's offer to fund long-range missile production in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that the move was an obstacle to reaching a peace agreement.

Both Merz and Zelenskyy criticised the Kremlin's effective rejection of an unconditional ceasefire proposed by the US, which Kyiv had accepted. Kyiv says Moscow has been slow to respond to proposals for a settlement.

Merz said last Monday, 26 May, that Germany and other major allies were no longer imposing range limits on weapons they send to Ukraine, although he indicated their use was limited to Russian military targets.

Ukraine has launched its own long-range drones at sites that support Russia's military efforts, including refineries and chemical plants.

Then-US president Joe Biden had in 2024 authorised Ukraine to use US-supplied missiles for limited strikes in Russia. The decision allowed Ukraine to use the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) against Russia.

In Berlin, Zelenskyy called for deeper defence cooperation across Europe and with Washington, stressing the need for long-range capabilities and sustained military funding to ensure Ukraine's resilience.

“We need sufficient long-range capabilities. That's why we must be certain of the financing of our army and the stability of Ukraine,” he said.

He said the cooperation projects already exist. “We simply want (the missiles) to be produced in the quantity we need,” Zelenskyy told reporters.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready to hold peace talks at the highest level, including a trilateral meeting with himself, Russian president Vladimir Putin and Trump.

“Both the American side knows this and the Russian side knows this,” he said. Zelenskyy said he would accept any configuration of talks, whether that includes one trilateral meeting or separate meetings with Trump.

Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said Russia is grateful to Trump for his mediation efforts.

“At the same time, there is a big number of nuances to be discussed that can't be neglected and which neither party is going to sacrifice, because of its national interests,” Peskov told reporters. “Just like the United States, Russia has its national interests that are of primary importance to us.”

Front-line fighting, deep strikes continue

Meanwhile, fighting has continued along the roughly 1,000 km (620 miles) front line, where Ukraine's army is shorthanded against its bigger adversary. Zelenskyy claimed on Tuesday, 27 May, that Russia is mobilising up to 45,000 men every month, while Ukraine mobilises between 25,000–27,000.

Both sides are continuing to conduct deep strikes. Russia launched its against Ukraine on Sunday, 25 May.

Russian air defences then downed 296 Ukrainian drones over 13 Russian regions between late Tuesday (27 May) and early Wednesday (28 May), Russia's defence ministry said, in what appeared to be one of the biggest Ukrainian drone assaults of the war.

Ukraine is increasing its domestic production of drones and missiles, according to Zelenskyy. He said late Tuesday that Ukraine wants European countries to help it invest in the manufacture of attack drones, air defence interceptors, cruise missiles and ballistic systems.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that its air defences shot down 33 Ukrainian drones heading toward the capital.

Moscow regional governor Andrei Vorobyov said 42 drones were downed. He said that drone fragments damaged three residential buildings in the village of Troitskoye, but no one was hurt.

More than 60 flights were cancelled on Wednesday, 28 May, in Moscow as the capital's airports were forced to ground planes amid drone warnings, said the federal aviation agency Rosaviatsiya.

Overnight, Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine using five Iskander ballistic missiles, one guided air-launched missile and 88 drones, Ukraine's air force said. Air defence units shot down 34 drones and 37 drones were jammed.

Zelenskyy’s visit to Berlin on Wednesday, 28 May, aimed to expressly seek further military support amid a recent escalation in Russia's bombing campaign, despite US-led efforts to end the war.

Germany has been the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States. Merz has plunged into diplomatic efforts to try to secure a ceasefire and keep Western support for Ukraine intact since becoming Germany's leader three weeks ago. European leaders have accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in the US-led peace talks.

German foreign minister Johann Wadephul meanwhile met with US secretary of state Marco Rubio in Washington on Wednesday, 28 May, even as Zelenskyy and Merz readied for their joint press conference in Berlin.

Ahead of the meeting with Merz, Zelenskyy had said that Ukraine needs $30 billion in additional financing to help it compete with Russia in the production of drones and missiles. Russia is aiming to produce 300–350 drones per day, he had said.

Overnight, Russian forces had launched an attack on Ukraine using five Iskander ballistic missiles, one guided air-launched missile and 88 drones, Ukraine's Air Force said on Wednesday, 28 May. Air defence units shot down 34 drones, while 37 more drones were jammed.

Ukraine's railway infrastructure and equipment in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Sumy regions also came under fire overnight and on early Wednesday morning, Ukraine's state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia said. No casualties were reported.

In Kharkiv region, railway traffic was temporarily suspended so that police and emergency workers could clear debris from a downed drone that landed on the tracks. In Sloviansk in the Donetsk region, the attack shattered windows at the station building, and drone debris slightly damaged a train car.

Based on AP inputs, edited for clarity and brevity