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.

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

President Donald Trump said Thursday that it might be better to let Ukraine and Russia “fight for a while” before pulling them apart and pursuing peace, even as Germany's new chancellor appealed to him as the “key person in the world” who could halt the bloodshed by pressuring Vladimir Putin.