Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal discussed military and financial support for Ukraine and the importance of a just end to the war with the leader of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Friedrich Merz, chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag. The meeting took place in Kyiv on 9 December.

According to the Head of Ukrainian Government, an important topic of discussion was the development of joint defence production.

“We are interested in further expanding the list of projects of German companies in Ukraine, primarily in the context of joint production of weapons, ammunition and equipment. Air defence systems remain a critical aspect of countering russia’s missile and drone attacks,” the Prime Minister of Ukraine said, thanking Friedrich Merz and his political force for their consistent and strong position on supplying Ukraine with weapons and air defence equipment. Denys Shmyhal stressed that Ukraine highly appreciated the support shown by the CDU/CSU leader at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

The parties also discussed the Victory Plan presented by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“NATO membership is crucial for Ukraine, especially in terms of obtaining long-term security guarantees and achieving lasting peace,” the Prime Minister of Ukraine stressed.

Denys Shmyhal and Friedrich Merz also focused on the issue of financial assistance to Ukraine. In particular, according to the Prime Minister, Ukraine expects the full implementation of the G7 decision on USD 50 billion in assistance to be covered by frozen russian assets.

“We also expect all russian assets to be confiscated for the benefit of Ukraine’s recovery,” he added, thanking Germany for its assistance in all areas of Ukraine’s development.