Russian strikes hit Kyiv during Merz's visit

Ukraine and Germany have signed a $1.5-billion weapons deal to help fight an upsurge in Russian drone attacks, while fresh strikes and air raid sirens greeted Chancellor Friedrich Merz on a solidarity visit on Sunday. The agreement includes combat drone weapons and support for Ukraine's battered energy sector, which Russia is targeting to cut off heating and power during the freezing winter months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X. Merz was on a surprise visit to show European support as attacks increase -- and discovered the new reality of daily life in the Ukrainian capital. Air raid sirens wailed repeatedly, including as Zelensky showed him the damage to the National Academy of Sciences, which was hit by a Russian attack drone on Monday, killing two. "We can see the entire pointlessness of this war at this place," noted Merz. "These barbarous attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine must stop. These are war crimes that are being committed daily here." One blast that was heard across the city damaged the road surface of the Northern Bridge -- one of several connecting the eastern and western parts of Kyiv over the Dnipro river which have been struck repeatedly in the last four days. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko has said the capital -- largely spared from the devastation wrought near the front line in more than four years of conflict -- should now be on a war footing. Round-the-clock attacks have hit residential areas, petrol stations, schools, rail and communications infrastructure, while the near-constant air raid sirens disrupt daily life and put people on edge. Merz warned as he arrived that support for Ukraine was vital for European security.