Merz announced his readiness to support Ukraine in the development of long-range weapons.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Germany will support Ukraine in developing its own long-range weapons. He announced this on May 28 at a press conference after talks with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.

"We will finance the purchase of a substantial number of Starlink [satellite communication] terminals. In addition, our (Ukraine and Germany. — Ed.) the Ministry of Defense will sign a memorandum on long—range missiles," Sky News quoted him as saying.

He added that Berlin and Kiev plan to establish joint production of long-range missiles, but did not disclose details. Merz also reiterated the lifting of restrictions on the range of use for weapons supplied to Ukraine and confirmed that Germany would transfer Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev.

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Earlier, on May 26, Merz said that Britain, France, Germany and the United States had lifted range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine. He noted that this decision is aimed at giving it the opportunity to attack targets in Russia. The next day, the Chancellor said that he had talked about the decisions taken a few months ago. On the morning of May 28, Politico newspaper stated that Merz's allies criticized the Chancellor after the relevant statements.