Germany and Ukraine will jointly develop long-range drones, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said during an unannounced visit to Kiev on May 11. The Ukrainian military has routinely used unmanned aerial vehicles for attacks deep inside Russia that target civilians and critical infrastructure.
Berlin has emerged as Kiev’s largest single military donor since the U.S. switch from donating weapons directly to Ukraine to selling them to Kiev’s other NATO backers, which hand them over. Germany spent around €20 billion ($23.5 billion) on weapons for Ukraine from January 2022 to February 2026, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.