Overview

• Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv and indicated Germany could join formal guarantees if a peace deal is reached.
• He outlined two concrete areas of support: continued equipping of Ukraine’s armed forces and a ramp‑up of weapons production inside Ukraine.
• Klingbeil voiced doubts about a rapid peace with Russia and declined to commit to any deployment of German soldiers to secure a settlement.
• He reaffirmed €9 billion in German support for Ukraine in both 2025 and 2026, with total assistance since 2022 at about €50.5 billion.
• U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg is in Kyiv, and Zelenskyy said he plans to meet him this week to discuss possible leaders’ talks with Vladimir Putin and security guarantees.