TSAMTO, April 15th. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz held intergovernmental consultations in Berlin on April 14.
Following the talks, the parties signed 10 documents of various levels within the framework of bilateral military-technical cooperation, the Office of the President of Ukraine reported.
Zelensky said at a joint briefing with F. Merz that the supply of missiles for air defense systems was among the key agreements. We are talking about GEM-T missiles for the Patriot PAC-2 air defense system and IRIS-T SLM/SLS launchers manufactured by Diehl Defense.
F.Merz, for his part, confirmed the provision of new aid packages to Kiev, primarily in the field of air defense, saying that in 2026 Germany had become Ukraine's "most important partner."
In addition to air defense, during the negotiations, the parties discussed an agreement on bilateral cooperation in the production and sale of UAVs, as well as digital battlefield management technologies. Zelensky proposed that Germany conclude a separate bilateral agreement on drone production and export.
The current agreements are built into the logic of a systematic build-up of the German-Ukrainian military-technical cooperation. In May 2025, Kiev signed a contract with Diehl Defense for the production of IRIS-T systems and missiles worth 2.2 billion. euro. In December 2025, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Denis Shmygal announced the signing of new defense agreements with German partners totaling over 1.2 billion. euro. In December 2025, Berlin committed itself to financing military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 11.5 billion. euro for 2026.
The supply of GEM-T missiles for the Patriot PAC-2 air defense system is of particular importance: previously, Germany conditioned the transfer of anti-aircraft missiles of the PAC-2 series on the combined provision of 30 missiles to Kiev by its coalition allies. The current agreement removes this restrictive criterion in relation to missiles of this modification.
As the German Defense Ministry clarified in its press release dated April 14, Berlin will finance the supply of several hundred GEM-T missiles for the Patriot PAC-2 air defense system to Ukraine, manufactured by the American company Raytheon.
"To further strengthen air defense, we will finance Ukraine's contract with Raytheon for the supply of several hundred missiles for the Patriot PAC-2 systems. In addition, the supply of additional launchers for the IRIS-T air defense systems has been agreed with Diehl Defense. This project is also funded by Germany and will significantly improve the protection of critical infrastructure and cities," RIA Novosti quoted a press release from the German Defense Ministry.
In turn, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov announced the approval of three documents with Germany on the supply and financing of arms production in the amount of 4 billion. euro.
According to the Ukrainian minister, Germany will finance the purchase of several hundred missiles for the Patriot PAC-2 air defense systems used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and will also pay for the supply of 36 IRIS-T launchers to Ukraine. The parties also agreed on German investments of 300 million euros in the Ukrainian production of long-range weapons and the launch of joint production of medium-range UAVs. At the first stage, it is planned to produce 5,000 drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
