More than 1.3 billion euros: that is the size of the new aid package German Chancellor Friedrich Merz brought to Kyiv on Sunday, Oct. 4. Roughly 1 billion euros of it is military. The remaining 350 million euros goes to energy needs ahead of winter, including generators, substations and repair work.
The military share covers long-range strike weapons, combat drones and satellite technology. Merz told a news conference the aim is “so that Ukraine can also target Russian launch pads.”
Interceptors built in Ukraine
The most concrete industrial piece is the plan for interceptor drones. Germany will pay for joint production of drones designed to bring down Russia’s jet-powered attack drones. Merz said “significant technical breakthroughs” over recent weeks were speeding things up. “This will quickly and tangibly strengthen Ukraine’s air defense,” he said. “And this strengthening is urgently needed.”
Quantum Systems told Militarnyi that it will make tens of thousands of interceptors directly in Ukraine under the order, which sits inside Germany’s winter 2026-2027 aid package. The company’s press release did not name the models to be bought. It did say its Ukrainian team at the joint venture Quantum WIY Industries, set up with WIY Drones, developed the interceptors. They run on the company’s MOSAIC UXS software ecosystem.
Merz and Economy and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche toured the firm’s Ukrainian production sites during the visit. They saw operator training, technical support and plans for higher output. In September, Quantum Systems had received an order to supply Ukraine’s National Guard with 25,000 STRILA interceptors. At a Ukrainian-German industrial roundtable, the company also signed a cooperation memorandum with Fire Point on new unmanned and counter-airborne technology.
Quantum Systems tied the production push to Russia’s shifting air threat. Fast, jet-powered attack drones, it said, call for large numbers of cheaper interceptors.
The numbers from Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the two governments signed 15 agreements worth more than 8.5 billion euros. They cover security cooperation, weapons production and procurement, plus a deal to widen joint counter-drone work. “This is weaponry that will help right now,” he wrote on X.
Zelensky described the jet-powered drones as a growing problem. Russia launched 900 of them in a single week, he said, and Ukraine intercepted only about half. He pointed to F-16 fighter jets as part of the answer and said he would raise the question of more ammunition with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Germany has sent Ukraine more than 43.3 billion euros since the war began, plus equipment and weapons, which makes it the country’s largest donor.
Merz at the attack site
Merz and Zelensky also visited a National Academy of Sciences building in central Kyiv, hit in a Russian attack on Monday that killed two people. Air raid sirens sounded while they were there. The site is a few hundred metres from the German Embassy.
“These barbaric attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine must stop. These are daily war crimes,” Merz said. Turning to Vladimir Putin, he urged an end to “this senseless war” and added: “We’re ready to talk.”
He said Russian aggression reaches Germany too, citing daily attacks on its data centres and data networks. “None of this will stop if we stop helping Ukraine,” Merz said. “On the contrary, it will only get worse after that.”
Zelensky said the U.S. had proposed a trilateral technical-level meeting by the end of October, possibly in the United Arab Emirates. Ukraine told U.S. negotiators on Saturday it would attend. Kyiv was waiting on an answer from Moscow.
Sources
- Germany announces €1.3-billion Ukraine aid package that includes combat drones, long-range strike weapons
- Germany's €1.3 Billion Boost for Ukraine's Drone Defense
