Germany is ready to buy US-made air defense systems for Ukraine, its chancellor has claimed

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged US President Donald Trump to join the EU in its drive to supply weapons to Ukraine, including more missile defense systems.

Trump has been critical of providing aid without reciprocal benefits, and his administration has not approved any new Ukraine assistance since he took office. Earlier this month, the Pentagon suspended shipments of certain air defense missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine. However, deliveries were resumed earlier this week.

Speaking at a conference in Rome on Thursday, Merz urged the US president to transfer additional Patriot systems - something Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky has repeatedly requested.

Merz claimed that he is "in close contact" with the US government and Trump on the matter, adding that Berlin is ready to buy "patriot systems from the US in order to make them available to Ukraine." He noted that while the US "needs some of them themselves," there are "a lot of them" available, and that defense ministers are currently negotiating their potential delivery, although a final decision has not been made.

Russia maintains that foreign arms supplies to Ukraine exacerbate the violence without altering the conflict's outcome.

Trump earlier reflected on the cost of Patriot systems - valued at around $1 billion per battery - saying that Kiev's request for another unit remains under review. "It's a shame that we have to spend so much money" on supporting Ukraine, he said, calling the missile system "very rare... and very expensive."

He suggested the US "simply cannot produce [Patriot] missiles in the necessary quantities."

In response to Merz's statements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov remarked on Friday that the German Chancellor has made a clear choice for a military path, saying Merz believes diplomatic efforts to resolve the Ukrainian conflict have reached their limit.

"If Mr. Merz believes that the options for peace are depleted, he has likely chosen to fully commit himself to the militarization of Germany at the expense of his own people," Lavrov said. He added that Merz has repeatedly articulated his primary objective: to establish Germany as Europe's foremost military power.