German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who arrived in Kyiv on a visit this Monday, said he supports the provision of long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine and hopes that "this issue will be clarified soon."
"Ukraine has to win this war. Therefore, part of our responsibility is to ensure that Ukraine's resilience always outweighs the brutality of putin's war. The federal government is ready to do everything in its power to strengthen Ukraine's military capabilities," Lindner said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko.
Lindner said that Berlin "stands shoulder to shoulder" with Ukraine and intended to continue to support it in the fight against russian aggression.
"During the talks with Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, Deputy Defence Minister Andriy Shevchenko, and members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the minister emphasised that the Ukrainian people can continue to count on Germany's support in their fight for freedom," the ministry said in a statement.
According to Lindner, since russia's invasion, Germany has provided Ukraine with about €22 billion in humanitarian, financial, and military aid.
"We stand by Ukraine, side by side. Ukraine must not lose this war," Lindner told reporters.
Later, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal wrote in a Telegram thanking the German government for its support and saying that the countries are working on five investment projects totaling about €247 million.
According to Shmyhal, Kyiv is also counting on the participation of German business in Ukraine's post-war recovery.
"I emphasised that it was necessary to strengthen sanctions against russia and confiscate russian assets, which would become the main source of the recovery financing," the Ukrainian prime minister added.
Background. Meanwhile, Mind reported that Germany might soon decide to supply Kyiv with Taurus cruise missiles.