Shmyhal, Merz discuss development of joint defense enterprises
On Monday, December 9, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met in Kyiv with Chairman of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Head of the opposition CDU/CSU faction in the Bundestag Friedrich Merz, the press service of the Ukrainian government said.
It is noted that the key topic of the meeting was the development of joint defense enterprises.
"We are interested in further expanding the list of projects of German companies in Ukraine, primarily in the context of joint production of weapons, ammunition and equipment. Air defense systems remain a critical aspect of countering missile and drone attacks by Russia," Shmyhal said.
He also thanked Merz and his political force for their consistent and strong position on providing Ukraine with weapons and air defense systems. Shmyhal said Ukraine highly appreciates the support that the head of the CDU/CSU faction demonstrated at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
During the meeting, the parties also discussed the Victory Plan presented by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"NATO membership is crucial for Ukraine, first of all in terms of receiving long-term security guarantees and achieving lasting peace," Shmyhal said.
Shmyhal and Merz also paid special attention to the issue of financial support for Ukraine. In particular, as Shmyhal noted, Ukraine expects the full implementation of the G7 decision on assistance in the amount of $50 billion, covered by frozen Russian assets.
"We also expect that all Russian assets will be seized in favor of the restoration of Ukraine," Shmyhal said.