Germany supports Ukraine's European Union and NATO membership, and helps it to grow a "strong, climate-friendly economy".

[5] Approximately 5.2 million Ukrainian civilians (of all ethnic groups) perished during World War II as a result of fighting, Nazi crimes, war-related diseases, and famine, amounting to more than 12% of Ukraine's population at the time.

[6] Following the war, from 1944 to the 1950s, surviving OUN leaders found refuge in the US occupation zone of Germany, which became home to many Ukrainian displaced persons.

In 1991, Germany opposed Ukrainian independence and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, according to archived German Foreign Ministry files released in 2022.

[11][12] Berlin denounced Moscow's actions as a violation of international law, and took a leadership role in formulating EU sanctions.

[11] Germany and France both exerted substantial influence in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and in February 2015 these resulted in a ceasefire known as the Minsk II agreement.

[15] In July 2018, the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany was opposed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

[17] In December 2021 four days after Merkel had left office, Germany blocked arms supplies to Ukraine during the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis.

[24] On February 26, 2022 (two days after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine had begun) Germany abandoned a long-standing policy of never sending weapons to conflict zones; it increased its support for Ukraine's fight against Russia, approving arms transfers to Kyiv in a policy reversal and agreeing to block Moscow's access to the SWIFT interbank system.

[42] Germany has an embassy in Kyiv and 1 Consulate-General in Donetsk (due to Russian aggression (War in Donbass) temporarily in Dnipro).