Germany's Merz Offers to Help Ukraine  05/29 06:31

   German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged Wednesday to help Ukraine develop 
its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any Western-imposed 
limitations on their use and targets as the Kyiv government fights to repel 
Russia's invasion.

   BERLIN (AP) -- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged Wednesday to help 
Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any 
Western-imposed limitations on their use and targets as the Kyiv government 
fights to repel Russia's invasion.

   Some of the advanced weapon systems that allies have supplied to Ukraine 
during the 3-year war were subject to range and target restrictions -- a 
fraught political issue stemming from fears that if the weapons struck deep 
inside Russia, the Kremlin might retaliate against the country that provided 
them and draw NATO into Europe's biggest conflict since World War II.

   Standing beside visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Merz said 
that under an intensified cooperation agreement, Germany "will strive to equip 
the Ukrainian army with all the capabilities that truly enable it to 
successfully defend the country," including upgraded domestic missile 
production.

   After the United States, Germany has been the biggest individual supplier of 
military aid to Ukraine.

   "Ukraine will be able to fully defend itself, including against military 
targets outside its own territory" with its own missiles, Merz said at a joint 
news conference.

   Hours after Merz's pledge, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov publicly 
invited Ukraine to hold direct peace talks with Moscow in Istanbul on June 2.

   In a video statement, he said that Russia would use the meeting to deliver a 
memorandum setting out Moscow's position on "reliably overcoming the root 
causes of the crisis." He also said any Russian delegation would again be 
headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.

   "We hope that all those who are sincerely interested in the success of the 
peace process in more than just words will support a new round of direct 
Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul," Lavrov said.

   Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said his country isn't opposed to 
such direct peace talks but it still hasn't seen the memorandum promised by 
Russia and that further meetings would be "empty" without it.

   "We call on them to fulfill that promise without delay and stop trying to 
turn the meeting into a destructive one," Umerov wrote on X. He said he had 
handed such a document with the Ukrainian position to the Russian side.

   Low-level delegations from Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace 
talks in three years in Istanbul on May 16. The talks, which lasted two hours, 
brought no significant breakthrough, although both sides agreed to the largest 
prisoner exchange of the war. It was carried out last weekend and freed 1,000 
captives on each side.

   Germany doesn't mention its Taurus cruise missiles

   Merz declined to say whether Germany will supply its advanced Taurus 
long-range cruise missile to Ukraine -- long a request by Kyiv and a step that 
Berlin has resisted.

   The decision not to commit to giving Taurus missiles to Ukraine was a "big 
disappointment," said lawmaker Roderich Kiesewetter, a senior member of Merz's 
party, the Christian Democratic Union.

   Merz loves "very strong personal statements" but is not able to back them up 
with support from his coalition partners, Kiesewetter told The Associated Press.

   "We have a Moscow connection in Germany," Kiesewetter said, suggesting some 
politicians are in favor of Ukraine ceding territory to Russia to end the war, 
along with lifting some sanctions.

   Asked about Germany's offer to fund long-range missile production in 
Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that the move was an 
obstacle to reaching a peace agreement.

   Both Merz and Zelenskyy criticized the Kremlin's effective rejection of an 
unconditional ceasefire proposed by the U.S., which Kyiv accepted. Kyiv says 
Moscow has been slow to respond to proposals for a settlement.

   Merz said last Monday that Germany and other major allies were no longer 
imposing range limits on weapons they send to Ukraine, although he indicated 
their use was limited to Russian military targets. Ukraine has launched its own 
long-range drones against sites that support Russia's military efforts, 
including refineries and chemical plants.

   Then-U.S. President Joe Biden last year authorized Ukraine to use 
U.S.-supplied missiles for limited strikes in Russia. The decision allowed 
Ukraine to use the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, against 
Russia.

   In Berlin, Zelenskyy called for deeper defense cooperation across Europe and 
with Washington, stressing the need for long-range capabilities and sustained 
military funding to ensure Ukraine's resilience.

   He said the cooperation projects already exist. "We simply want (the 
missiles) to be produced in the quantity we need," Zelenskyy told reporters.

   Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine is ready to hold peace talks at the 
highest level, including a trilateral meeting with himself, Russian President 
Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.

   "We are ready to meet at the level of leaders. Both the American side knows 
this, and the Russian side knows this," he said. Zelenskyy said he would accept 
any configuration of talks, whether that includes one trilateral meeting or 
separate meetings with Trump.

   Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said Russia is grateful to Trump for his 
mediation efforts.

   "At the same time, there is a big number of nuances to be discussed that 
can't be neglected and which neither party is going to sacrifice, because of 
its national interests," Peskov told reporters. "Just like the United States, 
Russia has its national interests that are of primary importance to us."

   Front-line fighting, deep strikes continue

   Meanwhile, fighting has continued along the roughly 1,000-kilometer 
(620-mile) front line, where Ukraine's army is shorthanded against its bigger 
adversary. Zelenskyy claimed Tuesday that Russia is mobilizing up to 45,000 men 
every month, while Ukraine mobilizes between 25,000-27,000.

   Both sides are continuing to conduct deep strikes. Russia launched its 
biggest drone attack of the war against Ukraine on Sunday.

   Russian air defenses downed 296 Ukrainian drones over 13 Russian regions 
late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Russia's Defense Ministry said, in what 
appeared to be one of the biggest Ukrainian drone assaults of the war.

   Ukraine is increasing its domestic production of drones and missiles, 
according to Zelenskyy. He said late Tuesday that Ukraine wants European 
countries to help it invest in the manufacture of attack drones, air defense 
interceptors, cruise missiles and ballistic systems.

   Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses shot down Ukrainian 33 drones 
heading toward the capital. Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said 42 drones 
were downed. He said drone fragments damaged three residential buildings in the 
village of Troitskoye, but no one was hurt.

   More than 60 flights were canceled Wednesday in Moscow as the capital's 
airports were forced to ground planes amid drone warnings, said the federal 
aviation agency, Rosaviatsiya.

   Overnight, Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine using five Iskander 
ballistic missiles, one guided air-launched missile and 88 drones, Ukraine's 
air force said. Air defense units shot down 34 drones, and 37 drones were 
jammed.