Ukraine Seeks Germany Support on Russia04/14 06:07

   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Tuesday in Berlin with German 
Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose country is one of Ukraine's biggest 
supporters, as Kyiv battles to defeat Russia's all-out invasion, now in its 
fifth year.

   BERLIN (AP) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Tuesday in Berlin 
with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose country is one of Ukraine's 
biggest supporters, as Kyiv battles to defeat Russia's all-out invasion, now in 
its fifth year.

   German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was also holding talks with his 
counterpart, Mykhailo Fedorov, the former Ukrainian digital transformation 
chief who took up his new post in January and is credited with advancing 
military drone technology.

   U.S.-led efforts to end Russia's war on Ukraine have recently petered out as 
the Iran war grips the Trump administration's attention, although Tammy Bruce, 
the deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the U.N. Security 
Council on Monday that Washington "will continue to push for a negotiated and 
durable end" to the war.

   Western analysts and officials say Ukraine has in recent months recorded 
battlefield successes against Russia's bigger army, disrupting a spring 
offensive started by Russia amid improving weather, as fields dry out and new 
foliage on tree lines offers more cover.

   Meanwhile, the long-range drones and missiles that Kyiv designs and produces 
are repeatedly striking oil facilities and manufacturing plants deep inside 
Russia.

   Ukraine "is in a much better place than it has been at any stage in this 
horrific war," Finland's President Alexander Stubb said at the Brookings 
Institution in Washington on Monday.

   Ukraine "is on top from a military perspective," Stubb claimed, noting that 
last month Ukraine fired more drones and missiles at Russia than Russia 
launched at Ukraine.

   Moscow has also claimed progress on the battlefield. Independent 
verification of each side's claims was not possible.

   Russia occupies about 20% of Ukraine. That includes the Crimean Peninsula, 
which Russia seized in 2014.

   Ukraine is desperately short of cash and needs a promised 90-billion-euro 
($106 billion) loan from the European Union. That was being held up by 
Hungary's Viktor Orbn, but his departure as prime minister after weekend 
elections could free up the sum.

   Kyiv is also heavily reliant on U.S. intelligence for targeting inside 
Russia and needs more sophisticated American-made air defense systems to stop 
Russian missile attacks on its power grid. If the Iran war drags on, it could 
erode vital U.S. support for Kyiv, Zelenskyy fears.

   Furthermore, the Ukrainian army is short-handed, facing some 200,000 troop 
desertions and draft-dodging by around 2 million people, Fedorov, the defense 
minister, said in January.