Friedrich Merz, the Chancellor of Germany, announced the new financial aid package worth nearly $1.5 billion for Ukraine during his visit to Kyiv on Sunday, October 12. This visit came just a day after Russia warned foreign nationals that they would face "death threats" if they traveled to Ukraine.
Airstrikes and the security situation in Kyiv
After Merz's arrival in Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of the city, announced that a Russian attack had targeted one of the bridges in the northern part of the city. This attack followed two other strikes on bridges that had connected the western and eastern sides of Kyiv across the Dnipro River in recent days. During Merz's presence in Kyiv, which included a visit to the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, several air raid sirens were sounded.
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In a joint press conference with Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, Merz detailed the new support package for Kyiv. He stated, "We are providing financial resources for the joint production of jet-engine drone interceptors. Significant technical progress has been made in this area over the past few weeks." This comes as new jet-engine drones from Russia have been able to bypass Ukraine's air defense systems in recent months.
New military and civilian targets in the war
Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized during the meeting that they discussed the need for air defense, which is of vital importance at this stage. He also announced that the Ukrainian army would continue to target Russian oil refineries "with greater force." Zelensky stated in an interview that this action is a response to "Moscow's new policy in its airstrikes" on Ukrainian territory.
Zelensky also mentioned attacks on "infrastructure, roads, schools, and hospitals" as civilian targets. He emphasized that under this new doctrine, Ukraine would continue its attacks on energy infrastructure within Russian territory.
In a statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry, all foreigners, especially diplomats residing in Kyiv, were warned to leave the city. The statement also claimed that attacks on cities are retaliatory actions in response to Ukraine's attacks on cities in Russia.
Volodymyr Zelensky also reported that the Ukrainian army has successfully regained 140 square kilometers of Donbas territory in the east of the country during a "successful" counteroffensive. According to him, Vladimir Putin's new "doctrine" of attacking cities is also an attempt to cover up recent failures of the Russian army on the battlefield.
In the more than four years since the start of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has consistently emphasized that one of its conditions for peace is to gain control over the entire Donbas region. In recent weeks, as the colder winter months approach, the Russian army has increased its attacks on infrastructure in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
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