On 4 October, Ukraine and Germany signed a declaration of intent on cooperation in the field of countering unmanned aerial systems. The document was signed during a visit to Kyiv by German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz by Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Vyhovskyi and German Ambassador Boris Ruge, the Office of the President reported.
Briefly about the main points
- The declaration on countering unmanned aerial vehicles was signed by Vygivskyi and Ruge.
- The State Emergency Service has signed a memorandum of understanding with Alpha Robotics Germany regarding robotic systems.
- The National Guard has agreed to set up a production facility for Ukrainian drones in Germany.
- Merz announced a support package for Ukraine worth over 1.3 billion euros.
Agreements on drones and rescue equipment
The signed declaration is a memorandum of understanding and concerns cooperation in countering unmanned aerial systems. In a statement provided to the editorial team, the Ministry of the Interior noted that the cooperation involves developing the protection of critical infrastructure, exchanging expertise and information, as well as joint projects.
As part of the agreements, the State Emergency Service signed a memorandum with a German Alpha Robotics Germany regarding robotic systems for firefighting and rescue operations. The company develops robotic platforms for fire and rescue services.
The Ukrainian National Guard has also reached an agreement with the German company Quantum Systems and the Ukrainian company Frontline Robotics regarding localisation the production of Ukrainian drones in Germany. This is a production agreement, not a confirmed contract for the supply of equipment.
A visit to the damaged NAS building
Volodymyr Zelenskyy і Friedrich Merz In Kyiv, they visited the building of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, which suffered significant damage during the attacks on 28 September. According to the Office of the President, two people were killed and a further seven were injured as a result of a direct hit.
Head of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine Andriy Danik He briefed the German delegation on the clean-up following the attack and the work of the rescue services. According to the Office of the President, he also used specialised software to demonstrate to Merz the movements of Russian drones.
Support from Germany
During his visit, Merz announced a new comprehensive support package for Ukraine worth over 1.3 billion euros. According to the Office of the President, the package includes, in particular, funding for the production of interceptors to counter rocket-propelled «shahids».
For his part, Zelenskyy stated that during the visit, the parties had finalised 15 agreements and documents with a declared total value of over 8.5 billion euros. The President cited this figure as an estimate of the value of the package of agreements.
