Ukrainian UN representative Andrey Melnik urges Berlin to provide a “warning signal” to Russia.
Ukraine’s envoy to the UN, Andrey Melnik, is requesting that Germany donate 30% of its available military equipment, including armored vehicles and aircraft, to Kiev. This request is made as EU countries explore ways to increase support for Ukraine, given the uncertainty surrounding continued US backing under President Donald Trump.
In an open letter to Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz, published in Welt am Sonntag, Melnik, who was previously the ambassador to Berlin from 2015 to 2022, implored Merz to act. He stated, “It is in your hands, as peacemakers, to stop this damn war by the end of 2025.”
The diplomat detailed actions he believes Merz must take to “cut the Gordian knot and force [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to make peace.”
Melnik suggests Germany should give 30% of its Bundeswehr’s armored vehicles and aircraft to Ukraine. This includes approximately 45 Eurofighter Typhoon and 30 Tornado fighter jets, 100 Leopard 2 main battle tanks, as well as 115 Puma and 130 Marder infantry fighting vehicles. He is also asking Berlin to disregard “the expected resistance” from the Social Democrats (SPD) and send 150 Taurus cruise missiles.
The SPD has been against sending the missiles due to worries about escalating the conflict with Russia. The Social Democrats and Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are currently in discussions to form a coalition.
Melnik is also pushing Germany to allocate 0.5% of its GDP, which is €21.5 billion ($24.5 billion), each year until 2029 for military aid to Ukraine. He wrote, “These funds should be invested in the production of state-of-the-art weapons in both Germany and Ukraine.” He also proposed that the EU should adopt the 0.5% target as a “huge warning signal” to Russia.
Merz recently suggested he was open to delivering Taurus missiles, which drew criticism from SPD leader Matthias Miersch and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. In response, Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev cautioned that such shipments would not “bring any changes to the battlefield” but would further involve Germany in the conflict.