German Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul has disclosed that his country aims to help Ukraine manufacture more weapons more quickly as Kyiv looks to strengthen its negotiating position in peace talks with Russia about ending the ongoing war.
This came as Wadephul visited the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, accompanied by German defense industry representatives.
Speaking at a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, Wadephul noted, “We see our task as helping Ukraine so that it can negotiate more strongly.”
“We want to build new joint ventures so that Ukraine itself can produce faster and more for its own defense, because your needs are enormous.
“Our arms cooperation is a real trump card — it is a logical continuation of our delivery of material and we can even benefit mutually from it — with your wealth of ideas and your experience, we will become better.”
Johann Wadephul
Also, the German Foreign Minister asserted that when President Vladimir Putin speaks of peace today, it is “pure mockery,” adding, “His apparent readiness to negotiate is only a façade so far.”
US-led international peace efforts have failed to make progress on halting the fighting.
Putin has effectively rejected a ceasefire and hasn’t budged from his war goals.
Sybiha thanked Germany for its contribution to Ukraine’s air defense and urged Berlin to send more anti-missile systems.
He noted that the Russians are attacking civilian targets in order to create panic and to influence the mood of Ukraine’s population. “The key is the air defense system,” he stressed.
Wadephul was also due to meet with Ukraine President ,Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Berlin has balked at granting Zelenskyy’s request to provide Ukraine with powerful German- and Swedish-made Taurus long-range missiles, which could potentially hit targets inside Russia.
That is due to fears such a move could enrage the Kremlin and draw NATO into Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.
German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz pledged in 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.
Meanwhile, Russia’s invasion shows no sign of letting up. Its grinding war of attrition along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line and long-range strikes on civilian areas of Ukraine have killed thousands of troops and civilians.
Ukraine is outgunned and short-handed on the front line and international aid has been vital for Ukraine’s resistance against its neighbor’s bigger army and economy.
Germany has been Ukraine’s second-largest military backer after the United States, whose continuing support is in doubt.
The top German diplomat’s trip to Kyiv came less than 48 hours after Russia launched its biggest combined aerial attack against Ukraine over the weekend, Ukrainian officials said, in an escalating bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in peace efforts.
Ukraine’s air force said on Monday that it detected 107 Russian Shahed and decoy drones in the country’s air space overnight.
Strikes in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region left two civilians dead and eight injured, including a 6-year-old child, Regional Governor, Oleh Syniehubov said.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, the aerial onslaughts are calculated by Russia to squeeze Ukraine into submission.
Putin Not Interested In Peace
Prior to the news conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, German Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no interest in peace talks and instead wants Ukraine to surrender.
Wadephul told reporters after arriving in the Ukrainian capital, “Putin is not giving up on his maximalist demands – he doesn’t want negotiations, he wants capitulation.”
Wadephul also warned that Russia is “betting on a weakening of our support” and is determined to achieve “conquest and submission at any cost – even at the cost of hundreds of thousands of additional lives.”
Wadephul’s visit reflects Germany’s push to show continued support for Ukraine as the country faces critical shortages of air defenses and weapons amid Russia’s latest offensive.
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