# Russia Strikes Kyiv as Merz Visits

> Germany's Merz arrives in Kyiv amid Russian strikes, pledging $1 billion military aid.
- Title: Russia Strikes Kyiv as Merz Visits · The Straits Times
- Summary: Germany's Merz arrives in Kyiv amid Russian strikes, pledging $1 billion military aid. Russia struck Kyiv's Northern Bridge on Oct 4, as Germany's Merz…
- Keywords: russia, kyiv, germany, fridrich merz, ukraine, military aid, air defense, northern bridge, russian strikes, energy crisis, winter power outages, news
- Source: The Straits Times — https://straitstimes.com/world/europe/russia-strikes-hit-kyiv-as-germanys-merz-visits
- Published: 2026-10-04T09:11:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: russia, kyiv, germany, fridrich merz, ukraine, military aid, air defense, northern bridge, russian strikes, energy crisis, winter power outages, news
## Russia strikes Kyiv
Russia struck Kyiv's Northern Bridge on Oct 4, soon after Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Ukraine's capital.
## Merz meets Zelensky
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky told Merz Kyiv residents face 'terrible nights and days' from relentless attacks.

> We can see the entire pointlessness of this war at this place. These barbarous attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine must stop.
## Military aid pledge
Germany pledged over $1 billion in military aid including combat drones and satellite technology for Ukraine's air defense.
## Energy crisis fears
Kyiv faces winter power outages as Russia targets energy infrastructure, with temperatures dropping to minus 20 deg C.
## Merz's warning
Merz warned that if Russia is not stopped, its war machine will eventually turn against Europe.

> If Russia is not stopped, its war machine will sooner or later turn against us.
## Ukraine's needs
Ukraine wants advanced interceptors to shoot down Russia's new fast-moving jet-powered drones.
## Key takeaway

Russia struck Kyiv's Northern Bridge on Oct 4, as Germany's Merz pledged over $1 billion in military aid including combat drones and satellite technology to strengthen Ukraine's air defense.