German Chancellor Merz Calls Air Defense Ukraine’s Weakest Point Ahead of Winter

Air defense remains Ukraine’s most significant vulnerability, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday, adding that Berlin is working with its partners to strengthen Kyiv’s capabilities before winter. Merz made the remarks at a briefing in Berlin, according to Deutsche Welle. The issue was raised in personal discussions with a number of heads of state and government, Merz said.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “At the moment, this is the weakest point. I hope that we will be able to prepare Ukraine for the upcoming winter, including in the field of energy supply,” he said. Germany is also holding intensive consultations with European partners on expanding support for Kyiv ahead of the European Council summit in Brussels on Oct. 15-16, the chancellor said. According to DW, the discussions could focus on targeted assistance for Ukraine’s state budget and on all available means of reinforcing its air defenses. A warning against ‘illusions’ The German chancellor cautioned that Russia would continue its attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure, which he described as daily war crimes. “Russia will continue to bombard ruthlessly and destroy civilian infrastructure,” Merz said, adding that the EU should harbor no illusions regarding Moscow’s intentions. “But, we will not let ourselves be intimidated by this,” he continued. “We will continue to support Ukraine, because we know: Ukraine is part of Europe. If Ukraine falls, peace and freedom throughout Europe will be under threat.” Other Topics of Interest Belgium to Transfer F-16 Fighter Jets to Ukraine by End of Year Ukraine has already received F-16 ammunition from Belgium and Spain, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Under the Geneva Conventions, deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited and violations of these rules constitute war crimes. Because Russia is a party to the Conventions, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for senior Russian military officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia ‘not interested’ in negotiations During his remarks, Merz also addressed the Sept. 26 meeting between German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. According to him, Moscow’s subsequent characterization of the discussion demonstrated its unwillingness to negotiate an end to the war. Wadephul drew a similar conclusion. In an interview with German public broadcaster ARD following the meeting, he said Moscow had shown no willingness to engage constructively. “To all those who continue to say that Germany needs to negotiate, that Germany needs to talk to Russia, I say now: We are doing that,” Wadephul said at the time, adding that “unfortunately, Russia is currently showing no willingness to take a constructive negotiating position.” “Russia is obviously not interested in serious negotiations at all,” Merz confirmed, echoing President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent claims that the Kremlin keeps inventing reasons to avoid meaningful negotiations and is looking for excuses to keep waging the war. Kyiv has repeatedly pushed for a direct meeting between Zelensky and Putin, as well as a new round of trilateral talks together with the US. International pressure on Moscow has also mounted at the UN, where 51 countries urged Russia to end its aggression during a high-level meeting in New York last week. Lavrov, however, told the same meeting that Russia would not halt its war against Ukraine even during possible negotiations. First meeting since the start of war The closed-door meeting, held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, lasted approximately 22 minutes. It was the first meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The previous meeting took place in January 2022, when then-Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock met Lavrov less than a month before the invasion. According to a German Foreign Ministry spokesperson cited by AFP, Wadephul urged Moscow to “reject the dangerous path of escalation” against Germany, Europe and NATO. He also raised incidents such as the recent attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, which Berlin has attributed to Russia. Wadephul later stated that he did not discuss Ukraine’s future with Lavrov, DW reported. Instead, he reaffirmed that Germany would continue to support Ukraine and maintain economic pressure on Russia. The German delegation also reportedly called for an agreement on grain exports via the Black Sea. The two sides offered conflicting accounts of which party requested the meeting. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the German side had initiated it, a claim German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Josef Hinterseher subsequently rejected, according to DW. Lavrov downplayed the significance of the talks, saying Wadephul had raised a “complaint” over the drone discovered in Leipzig and had presented no new positions. “If you look at Berlin’s daily public statements, I did not hear anything new,” Lavrov said, adding that Germany could have “simply called” him. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the discussion covered bilateral relations and “the situation around Ukraine,” DW reported. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.