Merz pledges Ukraine aid Petersohn explains the need

Oct 4

Romy Hiller and Susanne Petersohn report Friedrich Merz's surprise Kyiv visit and Russian attacks during it, including a drone hit on a major bridge. Merz calls on Putin to stop the war, offers talks and condemns attacks on civilians as war crimes. Zelenskyy thanks him for coming despite the conditions and describes a German package worth more than €1.3 billion, including production of interceptors against jet-powered Shaheds. Petersohn says part of the support is for energy systems before winter. Merz also cites the August 4 Leipzig airport incident as a Russian attack; that attribution remains his claim. In the complete live exchange, Petersohn explains the importance of air defence, energy support and dependable German backing, describes depleted social-system funds and a reported roughly 20-billion financing gap for 2026 military spending without specifying a currency, and says financing for the following year remains unclear. The report establishes announced support, not completed delivery or the closure of the financing gap.

During an October 4, 2026 visit with Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Kyiv's damaged National Academy of Sciences, Friedrich Merz urges Vladimir Putin to end the war and expresses readiness for talks while demanding an end to attacks on Ukraine's civilian population. He invokes the previous Monday's academy strike and that morning's air-raid alert, calls the attacks daily war crimes and refers to winter preparations. Zelenskyy condemns continued attacks during the German delegation's presence and thanks Merz for coming. These are the leaders' public remarks and assessments; no accepted talks, ceasefire or new aid package is established in the AP excerpt. DD India's complete October 4 site quotation also retains Merz's closing condition that talks require the guns to fall silent. Tagesschau carries the same outdoor appeal and Zelenskyy's subsequent thanks. These reports are compatible accounts of the academy-site intervention; the separate aid/business undertaking and Merz's later interview about negotiating participation remain distinct occurrences.