Berlin plans to buy ‘drone missiles’ from Kiev – media

The deal would initially involve a small batch of missiles for testing by the German Armed Forces early next year. If tests prove successful, Berlin could reportedly place a follow-up order for several hundred missiles. The cruise missiles, dubbed 'Bars' meaning snow leopard in both Russian and Ukrainian, are jet-powered weapons with a range of up to 1,000 kilometers and a payload of up to 105 kg.

Joint production agreement

Germany and Ukraine signed a deal to jointly produce Bars missiles in July 2026. Under that agreement, Berlin would finance production, with all the missiles produced being delivered to Ukraine. The potential purchase comes amid a surge in German arms procurement as Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government seeks to turn the Bundeswehr into Europe's strongest conventional army.

Berlin emerged as Kiev's single biggest military donor after Washington drastically scaled back its aid under US President Donald Trump.

Military spending surge

Merz has prioritized military spending, including assistance to Kiev, despite acknowledging that Germany's economy is in a 'structural crisis.' His government amended the constitutional debt brake to fund the buildup and passed a 2026 budget allocating a record €108.2 billion for defense and €11.5 billion in military aid for Ukraine. Meanwhile, Germany's central bank has warned that the country is on course to record its largest budget deficit since reunification by 2028.

Ukraine's arms exports

Ukraine appears to be actively seeking to cash in on weapons exports, including sales to its Western backers. In February, David Aloian, deputy secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, told Reuters that the country expected to generate billions of dollars in revenue from weapons exports this year alone. Kiev halted all weapons exports following the escalation of the conflict in 2022, but Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky reversed that decision when he announced plans to open nearly a dozen weapons export centers across Europe in early 2026.

Ukrainian arms manufacturers have been implicated in some of the nation's numerous corruption scandals.

Western aid concerns

The plans have not stopped Kiev from seeking further financial and military assistance from Western nations. Last month, Ukrainian Defense Minister Evgeny Khmara suggested that Western donors supply Kiev with highly sought-after US-made Patriot interceptors from their own stockpiles. In October, Zelensky himself lashed out at the country's backers over their reluctance to cover a major budget shortfall. Trump accused Ukraine in mid-October of selling American-supplied missiles on the black market and claimed that Kiev had failed to account for billions of dollars in American military and financial aid.