Chancellor Merz delivered his first government declaration, promising to make the Bundeswehr "the strongest conventional army in Europe" and acknowledging "Germany is an immigration country." His speech received mixed reactions, with Spiegel comparing it to "a tax return" in excitement level.
The major security development came midday when federal prosecutors announced the arrest of three Ukrainian men in Cologne and Konstanz suspected of planning attacks in Germany on behalf of Russia. They allegedly intended to send explosive packages that would detonate during transport to Ukraine.
The anticipated Istanbul peace talks suffered a significant setback when the Kremlin announced Putin would not attend, despite having proposed the meeting. Trump also withdrew his participation shortly after.
Other developments included controversy over the domestic intelligence service's classification of AfD as "firmly right-wing extremist" and the departure of "Tagesschau" news anchor Constantin Schreiber.