Germany presses Ukraine to increase orders from its defence industry

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has called on Ukraine to increase its purchases of weapons from German defence companies, arguing that Germany's role as Kyiv's biggest donor justified greater involvement for its arms industry.

Speaking to German media, Wadephul said he had assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit last month that Germany would continue supporting Ukraine in its defence against Russia, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

However, he said German taxpayers expected the country's defence industry to benefit from Ukraine's procurement.

“At the moment, we're not entirely satisfied with the level of orders we're receiving in Germany,” Wadephul said, according to the newspaper.

His comments came days after Germany accused Russia of being behind an attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle airport in August. Moscow has denied the accusation.

The incident has further strained relations between Germany and Russia, with Berlin responding by ordering the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn and a Russian cultural centre in Berlin.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described Germany's accusations as broadly the beginning of a “real war”. Wadephul rejected the comments, saying Germany had to respond to the incident.

The German minister also said Ukrainian men of military age currently living in Germany should return to Ukraine. He said Berlin could help the Ukrainian government identify those eligible to return, citing records of people receiving social security, those registered in the country and people with residence status.

By Aghakazim Guliyev