Welt: Germany to support production of Ukrainian drones Bars, Liutyi, and interceptor UAVs worth €400 million

Germany will finance the purchase of Ukrainian Bars missile drones, Liutyi strike drones, and Flamingo interceptor drones.

This was reported by Welt, citing sources in the German government.

This funding is part of a new military aid package for Ukraine worth approximately €5 billion, announced during Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s visit to Berlin on Wednesday, May 28.

€400 million is earmarked for producing Ukrainian long-range weapons (Deep Strike).

According to the media, in early May, Ukraine appealed to the German Ministry of Defense with a request to finance Bars missile drones, Liutyi strike UAVs, and VB140 Flamingo interceptor drones.

Flamingo, with a flight range of at least 30 km, is designed to destroy enemy UAVs in the air. This saves expensive missiles that would otherwise be used to intercept Russian reconnaissance drones.

The German Defense Ministry stated that the first Ukrainian-made long-range weapons could be deployed within a few weeks after receiving funding.

Bars

In April 2025, the BBC, citing an anonymous source in the Ukrainian government, reported that Ukraine had developed a new drone missile, Bars, capable of striking deep into Russian territory. The new missile is a private development.

Its characteristics are similar to those of another model, the Peklo drone missile. The media’s source described the Bars as a medium-range strike weapon, whose flight range is about 700–800 km.

Liutyi

Currently, Liutyi is considered one of the most effective Ukrainian strike drones. It has a combat unit weighing 75 kilograms and a flight range of over 1,000 kilometers.

This drone was responsible for a significant part of the recent strikes on strategic targets deep in Russia’s rear.

The use of Liutyi drones is usually coordinated with other types of drones, some of which are decoy targets. This allows them to overcome the Russian air defense system and increase the effectiveness of combat strikes against the aggressor.