Here are some scenes from Tuesday’s aid distribution efforts.

tit-for-tat drone attacksThat comment sparked hope in Kyiv and put renewed attention on the possibility of Germany supplying Ukraine with Taurus missiles, which the war-wracked country has long requested.

However, Merz, in a joint appearance with Zelenskyy on Wednesday,the Ukrainian leader that Germany would help his country develop long-range missiles on its territory. He did not make any commitments regarding the Taurus.Germany has been a key backer of Ukraine and is the second biggest supplier of military aid after the United States. However, former Chancellor Olaf Scholz was reluctant to supply Kyiv with Taurus missiles because he did not want Germany to be directly involved in the Ukraine war. He agreed to provide

Leopard 2 battle tanks in January 2023after pressure from his NATO allies. Russian President Vladimir Putin

that if Western countries allow Ukraine to use their long-range weapons to strike inside Russia, it would put NATO “at war with his country”.

Since taking office on May 6, however, Merz has deepened efforts to retain Western support for Ukraine amid efforts by US Donald Trump’s administration to end the war. Trump has been critical of the US aid to Ukraine under his predecessor Joe Biden. But recent intensified Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine have angered Trump, who has called Putin “crazy”.Vladislav, like other businessmen who spoke to Al Jazeera, declined to talk about his supply chains in detail.

"Russian business does everything possible to fill the gap. For many,  this is an opportunity to carve out their niche in the market," Natalia Zubarevich, a professor at Moscow State University and an expert in regional socioeconomic development, told Al Jazeera.“The market cannot be empty if you can profit from it.”

Still, the Russian market has changed in some ways since the invasion."Supply chains are now longer, goods become more expensive,” Burmistrov from Infoline-Analytics told Al Jazeera.