Europe is capable of sustaining Ukraine's resistance against Russia, even if the United States were to decide to completely halt its military support to Kyiv, the senior military official in charge of coordinating Germany's arms supplies told Reuters.

Germany has given Ukraine the green light to strike targets inside Russia using long-range weapons supplied by Berlin, in a decision that signals a notable hardening of Western resolve as the war grinds on.

Tariffs, defence and Ukraine are on the agenda for Merz's trip, as leader of the EU’s largest economy.