Ukraine and Germany have entered a new phase of their defense partnership: companies from both countries are already establishing more than ten joint ventures to produce drones, long-range weapons, and air defense systems.
Oleksii Makeev, Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, spoke about this.
“We are currently in a phase where more than ten joint ventures are being established between Ukraine and Germany in the defense sector-both for the production of long-range weapons and interceptors for air defense systems,” he said.
According to Makeev, Germany’s willingness to make decisions in support of Ukraine has changed significantly compared to the start of the full-scale war. Approximately 0.25% of Germany’s GDP is currently allocated to military aid for Ukraine, which is a huge figure.
“If we look at what has changed in Germany since 2022, there are specific figures. While back then it was several hundred million euros in aid to Ukraine, today the 2026 budget and the draft budget for 2027 allocate 11.5 billion euros. That’s approximately 0.25% of Germany’s GDP. These are colossal figures. And that’s just for military aid to Ukraine,” the ambassador emphasized.
He noted that the nature of military support had also changed: “While back then it was 5,000 helmets, today Germany is the number one provider of support to Ukraine in Europe. And every day, every month, we receive from Germany what we need: ranging from missiles for our air defense to direct funding for specific units, the procurement of long-range systems from Ukrainian companies, and joint production.”
Commenting on Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s recent statement that Ukraine’s planned operation in Crimea and efforts to compel Russia to make peace required decisions and resources previously agreed upon with G7 partners, the diplomat noted that this primarily referred to joint production.
“The point is that, together with our partners-particularly our German partners-we will be producing air defense systems and long-range missiles,” he said.
It is precisely this transition to joint production, Makeev pointed out, that was currently the main achievement of Ukrainian-German cooperation.
“We have now moved on to exactly what I really wanted: joint production by Ukrainian and German companies of the weapons that, as the President says, will make a very important contribution to forcing Russia to return to the negotiating table and restore peace,” the ambassador said.
He emphasized that deterring Russia was possible only through strong defense capabilities.
“It seems to me that we have managed to convince the whole world that we must speak to Russia from a position of strength, not weakness. And a position of strength is achieved not only at the negotiating table, but also through military means. And, of course, through deterrence capabilities,” the diplomat emphasized.
Makeev added that the development of long-range capabilities was in the interests not only of Ukraine but also of Germany itself: “And it is also entirely in Germany’s interest to have deterrent weapons: long-range systems, cruise or ballistic missiles, that will deter the Russian threat to all of Europe.” (Ukrinform)