Germany and Ukraine signed a €4 billion ($4.7 billion) defense cooperation package in Berlin on Tuesday covering air defense, long-range strike investment, and joint drone production, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz disclosing a fourth element that has drawn less attention: a formal agreement to exchange digital battlefield data for the development of new weapons systems.
Ukraine & Germany signed a Memorandum on Defense Data Exchange. Our unique battlefield data is a game-changer for global innovation. Scaling our experience into a win-win partnership. pic.twitter.com/pW23TLmNkZ
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) April 14, 2026
Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov confirmed the deal after talks with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
Germany will fund a contract for several hundred Patriot surface-to-air missiles to protect Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure, along with 36 launchers for the IRIS-T Surface Launched Medium Range (IRIS-T SLM) system, which provides medium-altitude intercept coverage to complement Patriot’s high-altitude layer.
I would like to thank Germany, Chancellor @bundeskanzler personally, and the Government of Germany for the agreements prepared as of today.
We have ten documents that have already been signed – ten arrangements, ten agreements of different levels. Arrangements on air defense are… pic.twitter.com/ARfn4qH2Ln
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 14, 2026
The package also commits €300 million ($354 million) toward long-range strike capabilities and domestic Ukrainian weapons production.
Germany also will provide €300M to scale the production of Ukrainian long-range weapons. This investment allows us to strike further and more precisely, shifting the balance on the battlefield.
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) April 14, 2026
Under the “Build with Ukraine” initiative, the two countries will jointly produce AI-guided mid-range strike drones, targeting an initial run of 5,000 units for Ukrainian forces, Fedorov said.
Within the “Build with Ukraine” initiative, we’re launching joint AI mid-strike drone production. The first stage includes 5,000 units for the Defense Forces. Ukrainian experience + German engineering = a new standard for defense tech.
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) April 14, 2026
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the drone arrangement as potentially “one of the largest” of its kind in Europe.
“No army in Europe has been as battle-tested in recent decades as Ukraine’s,” Merz said at a joint press conference.
The data-sharing component formalizes what Merz framed as a transfer of Ukraine’s four-plus years of live-fire innovation into European defense development, an arrangement that benefits German and European defense industry as much as Kyiv.
The Berlin meeting, the first intergovernmental consultations between Germany and Ukraine since 2004, came the same day a Russian missile strike on Dnipro killed four civilians and injured at least 21, with 10 hospitalized in serious condition, regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha confirmed.
Federal Chancellor of Germany @bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz and I held intergovernmental consultations for the first time in more than 20 years. Our relations are already at the level of a true strategic partnership, and the resumption of consultations will help us move even… pic.twitter.com/TG2tSC6S47
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 14, 2026
Note: Exact Patriot missile quantities and delivery timelines were not disclosed by either government as of publication.
