President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine and Germany are finalizing a bilateral Drone Deal aimed at expanding joint production and defense cooperation. Zelensky announced the progress Wednesday after a phone call with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Our teams are already finalizing the text of the Drone Deal,” Zelensky said, adding that it would provide “additional defense capabilities” for both countries. The two leaders also agreed to meet in person, with Berlin set to deliver new air-defense packages to Ukraine this month. The planned agreement is expected to cover joint development and production of drones, missiles and related software, building on projects already underway between the two countries. From agreements to production Several Ukrainian-German projects are already underway. Germany is financing the procurement of 50,000 Shrike FPV attack drones produced by Ukrainian manufacturer SkyFall under a contract worth about €90 million ($104 million). Berlin is also funding 15,000 STRILA interceptor drones designed to destroy Russian Shahed-type attack drones. Other partnerships cover interceptor drones, missile and aviation systems, joint drone production and technology cooperation between German and Ukrainian defense firms, including Diehl, FirePoint and Luch. Ukraine expands Drone Deal network Germany is part of Kyiv’s broader effort to move from relying mainly on foreign weapons deliveries toward jointly financing and producing Ukrainian defense technologies.