Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to make surprise Berlin visit this Tuesday, Merz says

The meeting comes as Kyiv seeks more missiles to defend against Russian ballistic strikes and asks European governments for an additional €70 billion in funding next year. Merz told Berlin's Chamber of Commerce and Industry that he expected to meet Zelenskyy around midday. The visit had been kept under wraps for security reasons.

Military and financial support

Military and financial support is expected to be a focus of the talks. Ukraine needs more missiles for systems such as the US-made Patriot. Germany has already supplied the Patriot systems it says it can spare without weakening its own air defenses.