Germany's Merz pledges faster arms deliveries to Ukraine in surprise Kiev visit

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made an unannounced visit to Kiev on Sunday, pledging to accelerate arms deliveries to Ukraine, warning that if Russia is not stopped, its war machine will turn against Europe. Berlin plans to rapidly supply thousands of interception drones designed to counter fast Russian jet-powered combat drones, and to speed up production of long-range weapons to strike supply lines inside Russian territory. One billion euros from approved budget credits will fund this acceleration. Germany also pledged 350 million euros for repairing destroyed Ukrainian power plants. The visit came hours after Russia warned foreign diplomats to leave Kiev and threatened continued "massive retaliatory strikes" against the capital.