German Chancellor Merz Says Long-Range Missiles for Ukraine Coming Soon—But Keeps Details Secret

Germany is moving toward providing Ukraine with new long-range strike capabilities, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirming that technical consultations with Kyiv have been underway for months and are now approaching completion, Anadolu Ajansı reported on November 20.

Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, Merz said the government has agreed in principle to supply long-range missile systems to bolster Ukraine’s ability to hit Russian forces far behind the front line. He declined to reveal how many systems are being prepared or when they will arrive, framing the secrecy as a deliberate strategy.

“The Ukrainian army will be equipped with these weapons systems,” Merz said. But he added that Germany will not publicly outline timelines or quantities, arguing that “a degree of ambiguity is necessary, especially for the Russian side” to complicate Moscow’s efforts to gauge Ukraine’s battlefield reach.

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The chancellor also suggested Berlin may support eventual production of missile systems inside Ukraine, calling it one of several options currently under discussion as part of a broader, longer-term support framework.

Merz sharply criticized Russia’s escalating strikes on Ukraine’s civilian energy grid as winter approaches, describing them as “a terrorist war against the civilian population.”

Germany, he said, will continue expanding Ukraine’s air-defense network, with an additional €3 billion in military assistance scheduled for next year.

He also voiced hope that the European Union will soon approve a mechanism to use profits from frozen Russian assets to provide sustained financial support for Ukraine.

Earlier, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger announced that the first Skyranger 35 self-propelled air defense system mounted on a Leopard 1 tank chassis is set to arrive in Ukraine next week.

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