Ukrainian President Voldimiazelensky is set to meet with German Prime Minister Friedrich Merzsky as he seeks more military support amid the recent escalation of the Russian bombing campaign despite US-led efforts to end the war.
During his speech in Berlin on Wednesday, Zelensky and Merz will also discuss sanctions on Russia.
According to a German government spokesman, Merz will be awarded Zelensky military honor as federal prime minister at 10:00 GMT.
Berlin talks follow a face-to-face meeting between Russia and Ukraine in the early May in Torkiye. Despite pressure from President Donald Trump to end the war, talks failed to file a ceasefire agreement.
Merz has further doubts about the prospect of a swift resolution to end the war on Tuesday, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin “is not interested in ceasefires or peace deals at this time.”
“This means that, as a result, Ukraine must continue to defend itself, and we must indeed strengthen our efforts to enable Ukraine to do so.”
The German leader added that the war is not just about Ukrainian territorial integrity.
“The political order established in collaboration with Russia since 1990 is fundamentally questioned,” he explained.
Long Range Weapons
A day ago, Merz said that Ukraine’s major western allies, including the US and the UK, have not imposed restrictions on the range of weapons supplied to Kiev.
“This means that Ukraine can now defend itself by attacking military positions in Russia, for example. There are few exceptions, but they didn’t do so until recently.
However, the German leader did not specify when the government decided to lift the restrictions.
The Kremlin said it was “dangerous” to lift the range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine.
“If these decisions are actually made, they are in complete conflict with our desire for political (peace) reconciliation. If these are made, these are very dangerous decisions.”
Meanwhile, the battle continues along the frontline of approximately 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), with both sides taking deep strikes. Russia launched the biggest drone attack of the war with Ukraine on Sunday.
Russia’s air defenses have resulted in 296 Ukrainian drones falling across 13 regions of Russia from the second half of Tuesday until the beginning of Wednesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobianin said air defense was shot when 33 drones were shot down towards the capital.
Andrei Volobyov, governor of the Moscow region, said 42 drones had fallen. He said that fragments of the drone damaged three residential buildings in the village of Trotskoye, but none of them were injured.
Moscow airports have delayed or detoured hundreds of flights.
Overnight, Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine using five Iskander ballistic missiles. One was a guided air-ranked missile and an 88 drone said Wednesday. The air defense unit fired down 34 drones and was packed with 37 drones.
Railway infrastructure and equipment in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Sumy regions also fired overnight and Wednesday morning, according to Ukraine’s state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia. No victims have been reported.
In the Khalkiv area, rail traffic was temporarily suspended, allowing police and paramedics to remove debris from fallen drones that landed on the tracks. In Slobiansk in the Donetsk region, the attack shattered windows of station buildings, and drone fragments slightly damaged the train cars.
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