Ukrainian president visits Berlin for talks with Merz

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting Berlin on Tuesday, German government sources said, ahead of planned talks involving the US, Russia and Ukraine next week.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz disclosed the planned visit during a speech to business leaders, saying Zelenskyy “will be with me again just after noon.” The trip had not been announced earlier for security reasons.

Merz did not outline specific topics but stressed Germany’s continued commitment to Ukraine. He said a tense February 2025 White House meeting between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump had provided the final push for his government to strengthen Europe’s own defenses.

“This is a challenge that we all did not foresee in this dimension,” Merz told the gathering. “For me, the last impetus was Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House in February of last year and the scenes that played out there.”

After that meeting, Merz said he concluded that Europeans must now ensure they are capable of defending themselves. “This is not to call NATO into question,” he stressed. “We want to be able to defend ourselves -- so that we do not actually have to defend ourselves,” he continued. “And second, we are making NATO more European so that it can remain transatlantic.”

Those two principles, he added, guide his government’s foreign and security policy.

The expected Merz-Zelenskyy meeting comes as US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced a new round of talks among Russia, Ukraine and the US for Nov. 10-11 in Abu Dhabi. The sessions are to take place at the level of advisers to the respective leaders.

US envoys are also expected to meet this week in Brussels with representatives from Germany, France, the UK, NATO and the EU. Those discussions are to cover security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe’s security order after the war and reconstruction.

German media reported that the Berlin talks could also address further German financial support. Merz’s conservative CDU/CSU alliance and coalition partner, the Social Democrats, are planning to allocate an additional €200 million ($224 million) for winter aid, according to the reports. The funds are intended to support Ukrainian power plants and other civilian infrastructure repeatedly targeted by Russian strikes.

Upon his arrival in Berlin, Zelenskyy wrote on US social media company X that he will meet Merz, as well as German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Bundestag President Julia Klockner, and also take part in this year's Berlin Security Conference while in the German capital.

“The key issues are our diplomatic coordination -- with important meetings ahead -- strengthening our air defense, and supporting our energy sector. These will be the priorities of today’s talks,” Zelenskyy said.

“We all have an interest in security, stability, and protecting the rules-based international order. And we must work together to turn these principles into concrete decisions and actions. We thank Germany for its readiness to support our efforts to protect lives and for our very substantive cooperation!” he added.