Merz Says ‘Prepare For Longer War’ As Germany Steps Forward As Key Backer Of Ukraine

Germany is very openly stepping up its support to Ukraine, following a weekend of serious escalation in airstrikes on Kiev by Russia, which says this has been retaliation for hundreds of drones on its territory.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine will travel to visit Berlin on Wednesday in his first time there since Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office earlier this month. It was only on Monday that Merz announced that Germany, France, the UK and US have lifted prior restrictions on how far the weapons they supply to Ukraine can reach. But Washington has not given public confirmation of this.

Just ahead of hosting Zelensky, Merz has warned that the Western allies must settle in for a long war yet to come, at a moment US-backed peace efforts appear to be faltering. Leading European hawks have criticized President Trump’s push for peace all along.

“Wars typically end because of economic or military exhaustion on one side or on both sides and in this war we are obviously still far from reaching that [situation],” Merz said at a joint press conference with Finish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in Turku, Finland

“So we may have to prepare for a longer duration,” Merz added. He articulated his view that Russia’s Putin is just using ceasefire talks to string the West along while he intensifies strikes against Ukraine.

He said this is consistent with Putin viewing peace talks with Ukraine as a “sign of weakness”. The German leader was cited in European media as saying, “Putin obviously sees offers of talks as a sign of weakness,”

“After the last three weeks, no one can seriously accuse us of not having exhausted all available diplomatic means,” Merz continued. Merz then said as follows:

Short of “raising the white flag,” Merz said, Ukraine’s backers had “done everything” they could.

“If even an offer to meet at the Vatican does not get [Putin's] approval, then we must be prepared for this war to last longer than we all wish or can imagine,” Merz warned.

But Russia’s foreign ministry had simply explained that it did not consider the Vatican to in fact be ‘neutral’ ground, and strongly suggested talks be hosted elsewhere.

Some independent analysts (echoing some statements of Trump) have pointed to Zelensky ‘sabotaging’ the talks at every turn by his repeat firm declarations that Ukraine will never make territorial concessions, even when it comes to the status of Crimea.

For example, the below op-ed snippet says that Western media has been intentionally misleading the public, in order to present the initial Istanbul talks as an utter ‘failure’. It begins:

Western leaders and Western media have given the first round of talks a failing grade. They have dismissed it for three reasons. They claim that Putin first suggested direct negotiations and then did not show. They claim that he sent an insultingly low-level delegation. And they claim that nothing was accomplished.

All three of these claims are false.

Putin did suggest direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, but he did not say that those talks would take place at the leadership level. Putin said, “We are proposing that Kiev resume direct negotiations without any preconditions… We offer the Kiev authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul.” Putin referred to the Kiev authorities and never to the two presidents.

It was unlikely that Russia would resume talks for the first time at the presidential level. Customarily, before presidents meet, a great deal of preparation and negotiation takes place at lower levels. Then, typically, the foreign ministers would meet to iron out most of the details prior to a presidential meeting.

Zelensky has also been insisting on a 30-day ceasefire before agreeing to engage in top-level talks with Moscow. But Russia has repeatedly made clear there is no reason for a track which would only result in Ukrainian forces re-arming and bolstering their positions during a short-term truce interim.

Ukraine can now attack military positions in russia.

No longer any range restrictions, – Merz. pic.twitter.com/kcXnYiDGhF

— Jürgen Nauditt (@jurgen_nauditt) May 26, 2025

Moscow’s position is that this would in the end only prolong the war and not offer permanent solutions. Putin has rejected short-term ceasefires as a viable path forward. He has all along demanded that the West show it is serious about peace by halting the constant arms transfers to Ukraine’s military.