Ukraine strikes drone production, military support deal with Germany

Germany will get access to Ukraine’s cutting-edge drone expertise in return for extra help in war against Russia.Ukraine and Germany have agreed a strategic defence partnership that will include cooperation in drone production and a boost for Kyiv’s air defences.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the deal at a news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday in Berlin. It will grant Germany access to Ukraine’s cutting-edge drone expertise, developed during its war against the Russian invasion, in exchange for additional German military support.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3The Sea of Azov: Ukraine’s loss but hardly Russia’s gainlist 2 of 3Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of breaching Easter ceasefirelist 3 of 3Russia-Ukraine Orthodox Easter ceasefire beginsend of listZelenskyy said the cooperation covers “various types of drones, missiles, software and modern defence systems”.In a joint declaration, the two countries said they will “strengthen cooperation in the air defence field”. Germany will “continue supporting Ukraine’s drone industry as well as establishing drone co-production ventures”, it added.The German defence ministry said it had agreed to fund contracts for several hundred Patriot missiles from the United States. Ukraine desperately needs additional air defence systems amid nightly Russian drone and missile attacks.Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov used social media to send thanks to German counterpart Boris Pistorius for the package, which he said was worth four billion euros ($4.7 billion), calling it “a massive boost for our air defence… to protect our cities and critical infrastructure”.Ukraine has the production capacity to turn out twice as much military equipment as it is currently deploying but lacks the funding to step up output, according to Zelenskyy.