Friedrich Merz, the frontrunner in the race to become the next German chancellor, visited Kyiv on Monday, where he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Unlike the current Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the head of the center-right CDU party wants to allow Ukrainian forces to use arms capable of reaching deep into Russian territory.
“We want your army to be capable of hitting military bases in Russia. Not the civilian population, not infrastructure but the military targets from which your country is being attacked,” Merz told Zelenskyy.
“With these range limits, we are forcing your country to fight with one hand tied behind your back.”
Merz's alliance is tipped to unseat Scholz's Social Democrats and their allies in elections on February 23. The CDU leads by more than 10 percentage points in most polls.
During his visit, Merz also suggested establishing a bloc of European states to formulate a peace plan for Ukraine.
“I have a proposal to create a Contact Group of Germany, France, Poland, Great Britain—the four major countries of Europe and NATO—so that they can exchange views and develop a common vision (on ending the war in Ukraine) together with the United States,” he said.
He added that European countries should refrain from pursuing individual peace initiatives, advocating for a pan-European approach.
Zelenskyy welcomed the suggestion but noted that Ukraine had already formed a similar group.
He said: “The countries you named already exist; we are also counting on Denmark as a representative of the Nordic group.
“We want to hold such a meeting in December. You see, we already have many similar opinions.”
