Merz says Ukraine must join G20 talks as Zelenskyy rules out inviting Putin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin. Merz called it unacceptable to discuss Ukraine’s fate without Ukraine amid Vladimir Putin’s invitation to the G20 summit in Miami, while Zelenskyy said he would not invite Putin to Kyiv and Berlin promised a winter support package and new air-defense missiles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Berlin on Tuesday for a visit that had not been announced in advance for security reasons and held talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the Federal Chancellery. The meeting came as preparations continued for a new round of talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States, which White House special envoy Steve Witkoff said would take place in Abu Dhabi next week, and after Donald Trump invited Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in Miami on December 14–15.

“Europe at the table”

At a joint news conference, Merz directly linked Putin’s possible attendance at the G20 to Kyiv’s participation. “If President Trump decides to invite the Russian president, then Ukraine must be discussed first. And if Ukraine is being discussed, the president of Ukraine must be at the table,” the chancellor said. He said it was completely unacceptable for third countries to decide Ukraine’s fate without its participation, “and when Ukraine is at the table, Europe is at the table too.” Merz added that key elements of a peace settlement, including sanctions and the security architecture, could be decided only with the participation of European countries.

Zelenskyy backed that position, saying he and “Friedrich” shared the view that lasting peace was impossible without European participation in negotiations in one form or another. He also stressed that neither the United States nor Russia could decide Ukraine’s membership in the European Union; this required the support of other countries, “and all those countries are in Europe.”

“Inviting someone who will not come is destructive”

Asked about possible contact with Putin, Zelenskyy said Kyiv would not invite the Russian president. He said there was no point because Putin would not come, and that an invitation known in advance to be unacceptable was destructive, just like the invitations to Moscow that the Kremlin, he said, extends to Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian president was also skeptical about a phone call with Putin, saying he would have to listen to “historical lectures” in such a conversation. Zelenskyy said the two sides needed to meet and speak in person; he supports a trilateral meeting of the leaders, with European participation if possible.

Zelenskyy said the priorities for negotiations were halting attacks on energy facilities and critical infrastructure, grain exports and lifting the blockade on shipping in the Black Sea, as well as a prisoner exchange based on the “all for all” formula.

Friedrich Merz and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the balcony of the chancellery overlooking the Reichstag

The front and “24,000”

Speaking about the situation on the front, Zelenskyy acknowledged that it was “difficult,” but said Kyiv was currently seeing neither Russian superiority nor surprises. He said there were casualties and thanked the army for keeping the situation under control.

Asked about losses in the Russian army, the Ukrainian president called the 24,000 people “Russian killers” who came to Ukraine to kill and said they should not be pitied. If Ukrainian troops were able to destroy them first, he said, they had “done their job very well.”

Winter package, PAC-3 and IRIS-T

After the talks, Zelenskyy said Germany would provide Ukraine with a winter support package. The sides also discussed further air-defense assistance, including deliveries of PAC-2, PAC-3 and IRIS-T missiles, as well as a new support package for Ukraine’s F-16 fighter fleet, which is also needed to combat “Shahed” drones. “Ukraine is facing its fifth military winter. Russia continues its attacks with undiminished force. We are strengthening our winter assistance,” Merz wrote after the meeting. The chancellor also said he would hold a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” on November 19, where the volume of aid to Ukraine for 2027, primarily military aid, would be agreed.

Talks between Friedrich Merz and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Federal Chancellery