Ayhan Şimşek
16 October 2026•Update: 16 October 2026
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday defended Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries, saying they were justified because they impair Moscow’s ability to wage war.
Speaking to reporters after an EU summit in Brussels, Merz said he sees no readiness on the Russian side, including President Vladimir Putin, to end the conflict. On the contrary, Moscow is trying to escalate the fighting further ahead of winter, he claimed.
“Above all, Ukraine’s entire energy infrastructure is being massively damaged, and its transmission networks are coming under attack. Every effort is being made to make the winter as difficult as possible for the country,” Merz said.
Against that backdrop, “it is, in my view, entirely right, reasonable and understandable for Ukraine to strike targets within Russia that hinder the war effort of the Russian government and the Russian army,” the chancellor added. “This applies to both communications and energy supplies.”
Merz argued that these are obviously the only possibilities Ukraine has to make Russia understand that it is prepared to seriously defend itself.
The chancellor reiterated that Europe and Germany will continue to stand by Ukraine. “But we are not doing it to prolong the war; we are doing it to bring Russia to the negotiating table,” he said.
