Merz unveils new aid for Ukraine as Russia strikes Kyiv during German leader's visit

Ukraine and Germany have signed a €1.3-billion deal to help fight the surge in Russian drone attacks, while renewed strikes and air raid sirens greeted Chancellor Friedrich Merz on a solidarity visit Sunday. The agreement worth more than 1.3 billion euros includes some 1 billion euros for weapons including combat drones, while 350 billion euros goes towards supporting Ukraine's battered energy sector, which Russia is targeting to cut off heating and power during the freezing winter months. As the two met, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Washington had proposed fresh talks with both Ukraine and Russia by the end of the month. Merz, on a surprise visit to show European support as attacks increase, discovered the new reality of daily life in the Ukrainian capital. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was on a solidarity visit to Kyiv. © Tetiana Dzhafarova, AFP Air raid sirens wailed repeatedly, including as Zelensky showed him the damage to the National Academy of Sciences, which was hit by a Russian attack drone on Monday, killing two. "We can see the entire pointlessness of this war at this place," noted Merz. "These barbarous attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine must stop. T...