An air alert was sounded in Koryukivka after the launch of Iranian drones by the Russian army.
(Photo: dpa)
Kyiv, Berlin Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Tuesday. He arrived in the capital, Kyiv, by train in the morning. There he will also meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later in the day.
Upon his arrival in Kyiv on Tuesday morning, he said: “My message to the Ukrainians is: We are not just on your side. Instead, we will continue to support Ukraine – economically, politically and also militarily.”
His message to the Germans at home was: “Let’s not forget what this war means for the people here in Ukraine, how much suffering, how much destruction there is. The people of Ukraine need us.”
“It was important to me to send a sign of solidarity to the Ukrainians, especially in this phase of airstrikes with drones, cruise missiles and rockets,” said Steinmeier, referring to his trip. “Like many Germans, I look at the people here in Ukraine with admiration. On their courage, on their inflexibility, which they show not only at the front, but also in the cities that are being shelled, and also in rural areas.
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At other stations, Steinmeier wants to get an overview of the destruction caused by the Russian attacks with his own eyes. He is in Ukraine for the first time since the start of the war on February 24.
Woman tearfully tells about the beginning of the war
Steinmeier already got a small impression of what the war in the country means for the people in the morning. Immediately after his arrival in the small town of Koryukivka, north-east of Kyiv, an air raid alarm was sounded there. Steinmeier, Mayor Ratan Achmedow and a group of citizens then went to an air raid shelter.
There, the Federal President had the people report on how they experienced the Russian war of aggression. A woman tearfully told about the start of the war on February 24, another about her husband, who is fighting against the Russian army. “My husband is on the front lines, on the hottest front lines,” she said.
The Federal President traveled by train from Poland to the Ukrainian capital.
(Photo: dpa)
“We spent the first hour and a half in the air raid shelter,” Steinmeier said afterwards. “That gave us a particularly impressive understanding of the conditions under which people live here.” It was a situation that could not be ruled out during the visit. The people there have to live with this situation every day. “Having the conversation there was particularly impressive. And I don’t think it was just me.”
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the Russian army had launched up to ten Iranian-made combat drones in neighboring Belarus. That’s why the alarm went off. Initially, nothing was known about impacts and damage.
Steinmeier had already visited Koryukivka in 2021. During the Second World War in 1943, the city was the scene of an SS massacre of the inhabitants. The Federal President arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday morning and then continued to Chernihov.
Third attempt for Ukraine trip
It is the Federal President’s third attempt to travel to Ukraine. In the past week, this had been postponed at short notice for security reasons. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), responsible for his protection, wrote on Twitter that it had “recommended, in view of the current risk situation, that Federal President Steinmeier’s planned trip to Ukraine be postponed”.
The trip to Ukraine had previously been postponed several times.
(Photo: dpa)
In the days before, Russia had repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s infrastructure with rockets and drones, severely damaging the electricity and heat supply. The capital Kyiv was also attacked.
Steinmeier actually wanted to travel to Kyiv in mid-April – together with the presidents of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The initiative for this came from Poland’s President Andrzej Duda.
Ukraine criticized Steinmeier’s position
Immediately before the start, however, a refusal came from Kyiv for Steinmeier, who had been accused by Ukraine of having been too pro-Russian in the past. The discharge was seen in Berlin as an unprecedented diplomatic and political affront. The situation only eased again after a telephone conversation between the two presidents in early May.
According to the Office of the Federal President, Steinmeier and Selenski now want to make a joint appeal to German cities and municipalities to enter into new partnerships with Ukrainian municipalities in the short term and to help the people there through the winter. These are suffering particularly from the destruction of the energy infrastructure as a result of the recent Russian drone and rocket attacks.
More: Follow the latest developments in the Ukraine war here in the live blog