Germany and Ukraine are collaborating on the production of drones with a range of 1,500 km.

According to RT, during an unannounced visit to Kyiv, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius affirmed that Germany and Ukraine are actively promoting the expansion of joint production capacity for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs/drones).

According to Mr. Pistorius, the focus of this cooperation lies in proven projects between businesses of the two countries. "We are particularly focused on the joint development and production of drones with diverse operating ranges, from under 100 km to 1,500 km," Interfax-Ukraine quoted the German Defense Minister as saying.

In addition, Minister Pistorius also revealed plans to join Brave1 – Ukraine's military technology platform. Through this platform, developers with promising products will receive financial support to directly apply and test the effectiveness of their innovations on the battlefield from the very beginning.

The plan to produce long-range drones is a follow-up to a series of important defense agreements signed in mid-April, when President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Berlin. At that time, the two sides agreed to jointly produce 5,000 drones integrated with artificial intelligence (AI).

Germany also pledged to finance a contract to supply hundreds of Patriot missiles and 36 IRIS-T air defense systems to the Ukrainian army. Pistorius emphasized that Berlin has shifted from "situational support" to building a comprehensive system.""A long-term and structured strategic partnership." According to him, this would not only benefit the security of both countries, but also boost economic and industrial development.

Besides drones, German defense corporations are also having a strong presence in Ukraine. Rheinmetal has announced plans to build an ammunition factory. They also plan to open a maintenance and production facility for armored vehicles with a capacity of up to 400 tanks per year.

According to Reuters, Germany is currently Ukraine's largest military donor in Europe. It is estimated that since 2022, Berlin has spent approximately 55 billion euros and is expected to spend an additional 11.5 billion euros in this year's budget for Ukraine.

However, Russian experts view this move as a step that exacerbates the conflict. Dmitry Ezhov, associate professor at the Russian Government-affiliated Financial University, stated that Berlin's plan to produce long-range drones will not help resolve the crisis. He said this in an interview. RT stated: "This stance by Germany is negatively impacting the prospects for negotiations, as the parties are constantly raising the stakes every day."

Sharing this view, Evgeny Semibratov, Deputy Director of the Research Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasting (RUDN), believes that Western Europe, and especially Germany, are betting on prolonging the confrontation. He further notes that the EU's rejection of the mediating role of former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder – who was considered suitable for restoring bilateral relations – suggests that the West does not seem to have any intention of pursuing a genuine détente.