Volodymyr Zelenskyj, President of Ukraine, is welcomed by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in front of Bellevue Palace. For the first time since the Russian attack on Ukraine, Ukrainian President Zelenskyj is in Germany to receive the Charlemagne Prize.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin, Aachen Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier received the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj in Berlin at the official start of his visit to Germany. Zelenskyi arrived in a convoy of cars at Bellevue Palace, the official residence of the German head of state, on Sunday morning. After Zelenskyj’s entry in the guest book, a conversation between the Federal President and the Ukrainian guest was planned. There should be four consultants on both sides, it said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Germany for political talks for the first time since the Russian attack on his country. “Already in Berlin,” Zelenskyj tweeted early Sunday morning. “Weapons. Strong package. Air Defense, Reconstruction. EU. Nato. Security,” he added – keywords for possible topics of conversation in Berlin. For security reasons, Selenskyj’s exact program was initially not announced. After the meeting with Steinmeier, talks with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz are also on the agenda.
An Airbus A319 from the Air Force’s flight readiness department picked up Selenskyj in Rome on Saturday evening, as the Air Force announced on Twitter. Two Eurofighters took off from the Lechfeld air base in Bavaria and “escorted him safely to Berlin,” it said. The Air Force also released two photos – one from the plane’s window looking at one of the accompanying fighter jets, the other looking at the Airbus.
The Charlemagne Prize for European Merit, which was awarded to Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people in December, will be presented in Aachen on Sunday afternoon. In the justification, Zelenskyy’s role in repelling the Russian war of aggression was emphasized: he was not only the president of his people and the supreme commander of the Ukrainian army. He is “also the motivator, communicator, the engine and the bracket between Ukraine and the large phalanx of supporters”.
Green parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann told the German Press Agency that Europe wanted to set an example with the award: “We stand by the side of the Ukrainians.” They will not let up in support for Ukraine – “humanitarian, economic and with weapons “. North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) spoke of a “strong signal in times of war”. “With President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, a determined fighter for the values of a free Europe will be honored in Aachen.”
Last year, the Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya and two fellow campaigners received the Charlemagne Prize, in 2021 the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. Ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Pope Francis are also laureates. The Charlemagne Prize is not endowed.
Nationwide air alert in Ukraine
A nationwide air alert went off in Ukraine early Sunday morning. According to local media reports, rocket launches by several strategic bombers of the Russian Air Force from the area of the Caspian Sea were responsible for this. Information from the war zone cannot be independently verified. During the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), the hometown of the Ukrainian ESC participants Tvorchi was attacked by Russia on Saturday evening. Shortly before the duo’s performance in Liverpool, explosions from Russian rockets rocked the city of Ternopil in western Ukraine, regional council chairman Mykhailo Holovko said. Nothing was initially known about damage and victims.
Zelenskyj in Rome on Saturday
On Saturday Selenskyj met President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Francis in Rome. The Ukrainian President campaigned in the Italian capital for further support for the defense against the Russian war of aggression. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni promised the guest from Kiev help “as long as it is necessary and beyond”.
Zelenskyj considers the Vatican’s efforts for a peace dialogue with Russia to have little prospect of success. “With all due respect to the Pope, the thing is that we don’t need mediators between Ukraine and the aggressor who occupied our territories, but an action plan for a just peace in Ukraine,” he said on Rai 1. He was specifically asked about a possible mediating role for the Pope, but in his answer he also included other actors as possible mediators.
Selenskyj was last in Germany a few days before the start of the war in February 2022 at the Munich Security Conference. For the first ten months after the Russian invasion, he hadn’t left the country at all. He changed that at the end of last year. In the meantime, the Ukrainian President has been to Washington, Warsaw, Paris, London, Brussels, Helsinki and The Hague.
After the war began, Selenskyj accused the German government of being hesitant to deliver arms to Ukraine. At the latest since the promise of Leopard 2 main battle tanks, however, that has subsided. Germany is one of Ukraine’s most important supporters – both militarily and financially. Since the beginning of the war, the federal government has approved arms deliveries worth 2.75 billion euros.
New billion-dollar weapon support program
The visit to Germany was prepared with the promise of further military support for Ukraine worth an additional 2.7 billion euros. Among other things, 20 more Marder armored personnel carriers, 30 Leopard 1 tanks and four Iris-T SLM anti-aircraft systems are to be provided by the German defense industry, as the Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday.
This is how the Handelsblatt reports on the Ukraine war:
Pistorius affirms: “As long as it takes”
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) confirmed when announcing the new package: Germany will “provide all the help it can – as long as it takes”. According to its own statements, the federal government has already approved weapons and military equipment worth 2.75 billion euros for Ukraine since the Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022.
There is also other material that does not require approval. According to Pistorius, the aid adds up to “just over four billion euros”.
German population divided on arms deliveries
The German population is divided on the issue of arms deliveries. In a survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the German Press Agency, 39 percent said that too many weapons and other armaments had already been delivered to Ukraine. 28 percent agree with the amount so far and 17 percent believe that Ukraine needs even more military support.
In the case of the currently controversial delivery of fighter jets of Western design, however, the rejection prevails. 49 percent are against, only 31 percent in favor. Ukraine wants American F16 aircraft, which the Bundeswehr doesn’t have. However, the Ukrainian government hopes that Germany, as one of the most powerful NATO countries, will support its demand. Scholz has so far rejected the delivery of Western-style fighter jets as not sensible.
More: Current news on the development of the Ukraine war can be found in our news blog