By Siobhan Robbins, Europe correspondent in Berlin
When Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to Berlin today, the big question was whether he would be leaving with a promise from Germany to supply Taurus long-range missiles.
On this, the German chancellor remained tight-lipped, in public at least.
But the Ukrainian leader left far from empty-handed.
Germany has pledged another military support package, which it says is worth around €5bn (£4.2bn).
It includes a promise to help Ukraine produce its own long-range weapons, a significant amount of which the German government says could be produced before the end of the year.
The fact some of these weapons are already used by the Ukrainian military means no extra training is needed.
This also means, in theory, they could be used much more quickly than the Taurus system, which would involve extra instruction.
The chancellor wouldn’t give a run-down of the weapons included to avoid giving Moscow a heads-up, but he did reiterate that range restrictions on weapons would be lifted to allow Kyiv to hit military targets in Russia.
This is a big step for Germany, which has been cautious about doing anything to provoke nuclear-armed Moscow.
The Kremlin was quick to respond, calling Germany’s announcement a further provocation.
While the €5bn support package isn’t entirely new and has already been signed off by the German parliament, the details of what it includes are.
New help
In addition to helping with weapons production, there will be cash for continued Starlink connection and the delivery of air defence systems and ammunition.
This is the fourth time Zelenskyy has visited Berlin but his first meeting with the new chancellor in the city.
The direct tone of Friedrich Merz felt like a huge departure from his more cautious predecessor, Olaf Scholz.
Merz was quick in his criticism of Russia and what he said was Moscow’s lack of commitment to peace talks.
Ukraine has always been grateful for the huge amount of aid Germany has provided but, in the past, appeared frustrated by the time it took for some decisions to be made.
Friedrich Merz is known for shooting from the hip, a style that so far appears to be well received in Kyiv.
