German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit on 4 October and announced more than €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) in new German support for Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a joint press conference. Part of the money will fund interceptors against Russia's jet-powered drones, as Russian drones struck Kyiv again during Merz's visit. Merz also pledged to speed up Ukraine's EU accession and announced a Coalition of the Willing meeting in Berlin this winter.

Russia now attacks Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities daily, increasingly with jet-powered drones that outrun the cheap interceptors built for slower Shaheds. That leaves Ukraine dependent on scarce air defense missiles and on partners willing to pay for new weapons fast.

A package aimed at Russia's jet drones

The €1 billion ($1.13 billion) military part of the package includes funding for joint production of interceptor drones against jet-powered drones, Merz said. Recent technological progress means the new interceptors can quickly enter serial production, he added.

"This will quickly and noticeably strengthen Ukraine's air defense," Merz said.

The package also includes long-range weapons, combat drones, and satellite equipment, which Merz said should help Ukraine destroy Russian launchers more effectively. A separate €350 million ($394 million) will go to Ukraine's energy sector before winter, covering generators, transformer substations, and repair kits, Liga reported.

The two countries also signed an agreement on counter-drone cooperation, Merz said. He stressed that the help runs both ways, with German defense companies learning from Ukraine's war experience. The broader deal also covers joint development of weapons with a range of more than 1,000 km, Reuters reported.

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Among interceptor drones, the Bars has so far shown the best results, downing up to 30% of its targets, Zelenskyy said. He expects the first results from small missiles designed to counter jet drones in the second half of October.

"We will not be intimidated"

Before the visit, Russia's Foreign Ministry warned foreign nationals and diplomats against staying in Ukraine and threatened new massive strikes on Kyiv. Merz arrived by train with Economy Minister Katherina Reiche and a delegation of German business executives.

"Despite the threats that have reached us from Moscow in recent days, I came today... This shows: we will not let ourselves be intimidated," Merz said.

Merz and Zelenskyy visited the National Academy of Sciences, where a Russian drone killed two people and injured seven on 28 September, the State Emergency Service and the Office of the President said. An air-raid alert sounded while they spoke with rescuers, and emergency service chief Andrii Danyk showed Merz the movement of Russian drones in real time. The same day, a Russian drone hit Kyiv's Northern Bridge again.

"I can only repeat it once again from this point: Mr Putin, put an end to this senseless war," Merz said during the visit. "We are ready for talks, we are ready to discuss bringing this war to an end, but these barbaric attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine must stop," he added, Reuters reported.

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Zelenskyy called the chancellor's presence despite the alert "a needed and brave signal" from Merz personally and from all of Germany.

EU path and a Berlin meeting

Germany wants to speed up Ukraine's EU accession and is working toward that in Brussels, Merz said. He welcomed Zelenskyy's assurances on rule-of-law and anti-corruption reforms, which he said matter for further financial aid. Together with France and the UK, Germany plans to host a Coalition of the Willing meeting in Berlin this winter to coordinate further support, he added.

The trip was Merz's second to Ukraine as chancellor and his fourth since the full-scale invasion. He arrived just as his standing at home is slipping: the far-right AfD reached 30% for the first time in an INSA poll for Bild, while Merz's CDU/CSU fell to a record low of 18%. Days earlier, Merz had directly accused the AfD of having "Russian backers."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suspended Ruslan Kravchenko from the post of prosecutor general by decree on 14 September. The decree came hours after Kravchenko announced criminal accusations against Semen Kryvonos, director of Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), which is investigating Kravchenko's office.

Zelenskyy's suspension comes amid a conflict between the Prosecutor General's Office and Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies: NABU, which investigates high-level corruption, and SAPO, which prosecutes NABU's cases. Their independence is central to Ukraine's post-Euromaidan reforms and EU accession.

Zelenskyy's decree gave no reason and cited martial-law powers allowing the president to suspend officials appointed under his authority, Censor reported.

Davyd Arakhamia, parliamentary leader of Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party, said lawmakers would vote on 15 September on a submission from Zelenskyy, who urged the Rada to back the dismissal without delay. The law enforcement committee backed it the same afternoon. Kravchenko submitted his resignation on 7 September.

Kravchenko was abroad on what his office called an official trip to a 16 September conference on Ukrainian children in Paris, organized by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Yet a spokesperson for the assembly told the Kyiv Independent that neither Kravchenko nor anyone from his office would take part, and that he would not appear as a speaker or a participant, and Censor's sources say he registered the trip as a business trip to Brussels.

The NGO Anti-Corruption Action Center alleged that he signed the notices in exchange for being let out of the country, and that the trip was possible only with Zelenskyy's permission. It published no evidence.

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What Kravchenko accused anti-corruption officials of

Before his suspension, Kravchenko said he had signed notices of suspicion against Kryvonos, NABU’s director, and an unnamed associate of SAPO head Oleksandr Klymenko.

A notice of suspicion is a formal pretrial accusation that generally confers suspect status upon service of the notice. Kravchenko accused Kryvonos of forging documents to obtain an illicit benefit on an especially large scale and arranging a fictitious adoption to avoid legal liability. The second alleges that the unnamed associate tried to influence anti-corruption judges, offered them bribes, and helped others evade mobilization.

Kravchenko linked the notices to Operation Carthage, claiming NABU and SAPO used its searches to obtain and remove case files concerning their personnel.

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NABU and SAPO rejected the allegations, denied taking files or seeking immunity, and called Kravchenko's actions a continuation of a "systemic attack" on independent anti-corruption agencies. Since Kryvonos had not been served, the agencies described the announcement as public rather than procedural.

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At the center of Operation Carthage is Serhii Kropyva, deputy head of the Prosecutor General's Office international cooperation department, whom NABU and SAPO accuse of running a bribery scheme that protected fraudulent call centers and laundered the proceeds.

Kropyva was remanded in custody with bail set at UAH 120 million ($2.7 million) while NABU and SAPO searched the Prosecutor General's Office premises. NABU has not named Kravchenko as a suspect, and he denies protecting the call centers or receiving criminal proceeds.

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The dispute between Kravchenko and the two agencies also revives a broader struggle over their independence from the prosecutor general. In July 2025, parliament placed NABU and SAPO under greater control by the prosecutor general, triggering Ukraine’s first major wartime street protests and Western pressure before lawmakers restored their formal independence.

The European Commission reiterated on 14 September that both the protection of agencies and the reform of the Prosecutor General’s Office, including the competitive selection of its head, are part of Ukraine’s EU accession commitments.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reiterated the EU's ongoing support for Ukraine at a NATO summit in The Hague on June 24.

"We have designed a funding program of 50 billion euros, we call it Safe, where member states, but also Ukraine and other partners, can take these loans to invest in the (Ukrainian) defense industry," she said, addressing President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"We are integrating our defense industries as if Ukraine was in the EU. This is good for Ukraine. And just as good for Europe, as Ukraine is now home to extraordinary innovation," von der Leyen later said in a post to social media.

NATO is holding a summit in The Hague from June 24-25 with world leaders, including Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump present.

"(M)y dear friend Volodymyr, you're here among friends and we stand by Ukraine from the very first day on and you can count on us also for the future," von der Leyen said.

The leader described the EU's 18th sanctions package as a "biting one" to apply pressure on Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Secondly, of course, there's constant financial support to Ukraine because we know you're fighting a war that is also protecting our values and our principles, and thirdly, indeed, we have to put pressure on President Putin (so) that he comes to the negotiation table," von der Leyen said.

She noted that members of the Group of Seven (G7) will also be implementing additional sanctions against Russia.

"All this shows you are among friends, you can count on us, we stand by your side," von der Leyen said.

The White House has confirmed that Trump and Zelensky will hold a meeting at the NATO summit.

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The Kyiv IndependentAlisa Yurchenko

Hungary's national consultation on Ukraine's accession to the EU had the lowest ever turnout at such a poll, Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar said on June 21.

"The... government propaganda campaign is a total failure. Based on information we received from multiple sources within Magyar Posta (Hungarian Post), only 3-7% of the sent 'ballots' were returned," Magyar said in a post to social media.

The poll was announced by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in early March and officially launched on April 19 with ballot papers sent to Hungarian citizens. Many ballot papers explicitly encouraged voters to reject Ukraine’s EU bid.

Orban, on April 22, said he voted against Ukraine's accession to the EU in the national consultation, publicly sharing photos of himself marking "against" on the poll ballot.

"This means that realistically, a maximum of 500,000 people may have 'voted' on paper... the Prime Minister’s Office revealed... that the number of online submissions was negligible compared to the paper-based ones," Magyar said.

"This aligns with information received from government sources — indicating that despite the propaganda lies, the total number of 'voters' could be at most 600,000," he added.

Despite the government's resistance, polling shows public support for Ukraine's accession to the bloc. According to Magyar's opposition party, Tisza's "Voice of the Nation" initiative, which received over 1.1 million responses, 58.18% of participants supported Ukraine's EU bid.

Magyar claims that the national poll garnered around 600,000 responses would mean that the opposition party's own polling received more responses than the government poll.

"This is the lowest number in the 'glorious' history of (national consultations). And this was only achieved over several months, with total mobilization and the burning of tens of billions in public funds. A total failure," Magyar said.

Hungarian officials have repeatedly threatened to undermine Ukraine's EU candidacy and EU support for Ukraine. Hungary has repeatedly blocked or delayed EU aid packages for Kyiv.

"(T)he failed, corrupt regime doesn’t care about people's real problems, and doesn’t dare to look people in the eye. They only send them letters," Magyar said.

Comrades, be proud of lying about two million pen pals, funded by 10 billion forints ($29 million) in state propaganda," he added, addressing Hungary's ruling government.

European officials have denounced Hungary for aligning with Russia. European officials, including Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, have suggested stripping Hungary of its voting power within the bloc.

Hungary maintains positive relations with Russia in contrast with other EU members. On March 26, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto visited Moscow to discuss continued economic cooperation between the two countries.

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Editor’s note: This story was published in conjunction with Grist. Twenty-two-year-old software developer Artem Motorniuk has spent his entire life in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, living in the north and visiting his grandparents in the south. It’s been almost four years since he’s seen them in person.

The Kyiv IndependentChad Small