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German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and his Ukrainian counterpart Mykhailo Fedorov signed an agreement in Kyiv on Monday to launch “Brave Germany,” a joint programme focused on developing defence technology and supporting innovative start-ups.
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According to the Ukrainian news outlet Ukrinform, Fedorov said Germany was now “the world’s leading provider of security support for Ukraine.”
He added that Berlin accounted for around a third of all assistance provided to the country.
Pistorius arrived in Kyiv on Monday for a surprise visit aimed at deepening defence cooperation between Germany and Ukraine. Speaking to German news agency dpa, Pistorius said the trip would focus on expanding joint arms projects and developing new weapons systems together as part of the countries’ strategic partnership.
“Germany and Ukraine are strategic partners and both sides benefit from this cooperation. A number of new projects will come out of it,” the minister said.
“The main focus is the joint development of cutting-edge unmanned systems across all ranges, particularly in the area of deep strike. In doing so, we are strengthening the security of both our countries.”
After a visit to Berlin last month, Mykhailo Fedorov announced on Telegram that Germany and Ukraine had agreed on a new €4 billion defence package.
The package includes funding for several hundred Patriot missiles and 36 IRIS-T launchers to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences, alongside €300 million in investment for Ukrainian deep-strike capabilities.
It also includes the joint production of AI-enabled medium-range strike drones, with an initial batch of 5,000 earmarked for the Ukrainian armed forces.
At Monday’s signing ceremony in Kyiv, Fedorov said Germany had begun financing “mid-strike and deep-strike capabilities, which are hugely important for us.”
“As our president says, these are our ‘long-range sanctions,'” Fedorov said, according to Ukrinform.
“Mid-strike capabilities allow us to disrupt the enemy’s logistics. It also shows the quality of support and financing being directed towards the areas that matter most right now.”
Germany still has a ‘deep strike’ problem
Despite Germany’s massive military spending drive, the Bundeswehr still lacks one crucial capability: deep strike. The term refers to the ability to carry out precision strikes against high-value military or infrastructure targets located hundreds – or even thousands – of kilometres behind the frontlines.
Former Chancellor Olaf Scholz had agreed with then US President Joe Biden that American Tomahawk cruise missiles would be stationed in Germany as part of NATO’s deterrence strategy against Russia.
But after US President Donald Trump announced plans to withdraw around 5,000 American troops from Europe, he also threw the Tomahawk deployment into doubt. The missiles had originally been due to arrive in Germany in 2026, but that now appears increasingly unlikely.
According to a report by the Financial Times, Pistorius is planning a trip to Washington to try to convince the Trump administration to sell Germany Tomahawk cruise missiles and the Typhon launch systems needed to fire them. The FTreported that the visit depends on whether Pistorius can secure a meeting with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Following tensions sparked by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s comments on Trump’s war in Iran, that is said to be “far from certain.” At present, the Bundeswehr only has one weapon system that could be considered part of the lower end of the deep-strike category: the Taurus cruise missile, which has a range of more than 500 kilometres.
Could Ukraine help close Germany’s deep-strike gap?
It remains unclear which specific weapons systems Germany and Ukraine are planning to develop under the new investment and cooperation agreements. But Kyiv unveiled a potential long-range option last year that could help address Germany’s deep-strike shortfall: the FP-5 “Flamingo.”
The ground-launched missile has a wingspan of around six metres, weighs roughly 6,000 kilograms and can carry a payload of up to 1,150 kilograms. Ukrainian officials have described it as the country’s first domestically produced “heavy missile system.”
According to military and security analyst Fabian Hoffmann in his blog Missile Matters, the system’s warhead carries more than 1,000 kilograms in total weight, equivalent to an estimated 450-550 kilograms of explosives. That would make it significantly more powerful than the Ukrainian drones and smaller cruise missiles used so far.
The Flamingo’s high terminal speed, combined with its heavy weight, allows the warhead to penetrate much deeper into a target before detonating, significantly increasing its destructive power. Its large explosive payload also gives it a much wider lethal radius.
According to Hoffmann, the impact radius is estimated at around 21 metres against heavily fortified targets such as reinforced concrete buildings, and up to 38 metres against softer infrastructure like refineries.
The Ukrainian military has reportedly used the “Flamingo” to strike targets deep inside Russia, including a factory in the town of Votkinsk, more than 1,300 kilometres from Ukraine in February 2026. Russia is believed to manufacture Iskander missiles at the site, which is located near the city of Izhevsk.
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