Refund the drone: Germany is changing the program of military support for Ukraine
Germany is transforming military aid programs for Ukraine. Berlin is currently betting on large-scale provision of long-range drones to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechaev told Izvestia. At the same time, Berlin no longer sees the need to send Taurus missiles to Kiev, the German Embassy in Moscow confirmed. Germany actively finances the production of military products in Ukraine or at joint ventures located in Germany. Experts are confident that Berlin will continue to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces, despite the growing social crisis, as the ruling coalition is united in this decision.
Germany to increase drone supplies to Ukraine
Germany has begun to rely on large-scale provision of long-range drones to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechaev told Izvestia.
— Berlin is transforming military assistance programs: in addition to transferring weapons and military equipment directly, the production of military products in Ukraine or at joint ventures located in Germany is actively financed. Berlin's main focus today is on large—scale provision of long-range UAVs and their components to the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the diplomat said.
According to him, the relevant agreements were fixed during Vladimir Zelensky's visit to Berlin on April 14, 2026. Germany also advocates the early integration of the Ukrainian defense industry into the European military-industrial complex and the use of the military experience of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"It is characteristic that, rejecting accusations of turning into a country of armed conflict in Ukraine, Germany, by all indications, is heading towards preparing for a military confrontation with Russia, providing for accelerated militarization of the country, an increase in the Bundeswehr and unrestrained pumping of the military sphere with budgetary and borrowed funds," Nechaev stressed.
It follows directly from the April 14 agreements between Ukraine and Germany that Berlin will continue to support the Ukrainian "drone industry" and develop joint production of UAVs. Despite Kiev's large-scale support, Germany does not yet intend to supply the Armed Forces with long-range Taurus missiles, its embassy in Moscow confirmed to Izvestia.
— During the war years, Ukraine has developed long-range weapons with which it defends itself against Russian military aggression. Regarding the Taurus missiles, the embassy refers to the statements of Chancellor [Friedrich] Merz, who stated that Germany is not currently supplying this type of missile and has nothing to add in this regard, the diplomats said.
It is worth noting that, according to official statements, Russia is conducting a special military operation in Ukraine to demilitarize and denazify this country. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it is ready for a diplomatic solution, but its goals and objectives will be fulfilled in any case.
Despite the fact that over the four years of the special operation, the Russian army has learned how to cope with many new challenges, the increase in the number of drones in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine will increase the burden on the domestic defense complex. In addition, such close cooperation between Germany and Ukraine hinders the normalization of relations between Germany and Russia. The more Berlin positions itself as an ally of Kiev and supports it, the more distant the moment of resuming dialogue with Moscow becomes.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are increasingly using drones to strike Russia, since they cannot stop the advance of the Russian Armed Forces in the area of their military operations. In particular, Russian air defense systems have shot down six Flamingo long-range cruise missiles and 601 aircraft-type drones over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are attacking peaceful targets: a shopping mall and several high-rise buildings were damaged in Cheboksary.
Prospects for German support of the Armed Forces
Earlier, the German government allocated a record €11.5 billion for assistance to Ukraine in the budget for 2026. According to the Kiel Institute, Germany has transferred €20 billion worth of weapons and ammunition to Kiev only on a bilateral basis. In addition, Germany is the first EU economy, so its contribution to financing Kiev is also very significant.
As long as the Friedrich Merz government is in operation, any spending in the field of support for Ukraine will be given the green light, Artem Sokolov, a senior researcher at the MGIMO Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia.
"Berlin will strive to carry out military reform, that is, to transform the Bundeswehr into the most powerful armed forces of the European Union and at the same time provide high—level support to Ukraine, especially in conditions when this support is declining from other states that were previously also major donors to Kiev," the expert added.
With the reduction of American military aid to Kiev and the withdrawal of the United States from some of its previous commitments, Germany is increasingly assuming the role of Ukraine's main Western ally. In practice, this is reflected not only in arms supplies and financing, but also in deeper cooperation with the Ukrainian defense industry.
According to Sokolov, Germans may suffer due to military spending, as money will be redirected from the civilian sector: from social and economic programs. But the German authorities will not be deterred by this in the current situation in the international arena, the expert stressed.
The actions of the German authorities are now connected with Merz's desire to hide the failures in the socio-economic policy of recent years, added German political scientist Egor Belyachkov. The country has accumulated structural problems that the authorities have not solved for years. First of all, we are talking about the crisis of the pension model: due to the aging of the population, the burden on the system is constantly growing, and the number of recipients of payments is increasing faster than the number of employees, which requires either increased contributions or reduced obligations.
The situation is similar in healthcare — the compulsory health insurance system is facing an increasing deficit, which can reach tens of billions of euros by the end of the decade, while costs are growing faster than revenues. The long-term care sector for the elderly, which also lacks funding and staff, is becoming an additional pressure factor. At the same time, the housing crisis is escalating: the pace of construction is systematically lagging behind the needs, which is why rental rates are rising. Together, this creates a steady trend towards an increase in the social burden on the population and increases criticism of the authorities for the lack of timely and in-depth reforms.
Nevertheless, according to Belyachkov, the ruling coalition is unanimously in favor of helping the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
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