German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock arrived in kyiv on Saturday for a surprise visit aimed at “showing” that Ukraine “can count” on Berlin’s support, the German government announced.
“Today I traveled to kyiv to show that they can continue to trust us. That we will continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary, with the delivery of weapons, with humanitarian and financial support,” said Annalena Baerbock, quoted in a statement from the German Foreign Ministry.
This is his second visit to kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
In addition to financial and military aid, Germany intends to help kyiv carry out demining operations and “shed light on the war crimes committed, in particular by sending experts, including a prosecutor,” he said. the minister in the note.
“It is clear to me that [o Presidente russo, Vladimir] Putin is counting on us to tire of the suffering in Ukraine,” he warned.
But Germany, the minister assured, will support the Ukrainians who “fight against Russian aggression, not only to defend their human right to peace and freedom, but also to defend our European peace order.”
Germany’s initial hesitant attitude toward Moscow after the war broke out six months ago and Berlin’s initial lack of military support for kyiv deeply angered the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
However, the situation has changed. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he wanted his country to take “special responsibility” to help Ukraine strengthen its artillery and air defense systems.
A new, less tense era in bilateral relations seems to be dawning, illustrated by the imminent arrival of a new Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin.
His predecessor, Andrij Melnyk, has for months attacked Germany’s timid attitude towards Russia.
The offensive launched on February 24 in Ukraine has already caused the flight of almost 13 million people -more than six million internally displaced persons and almost seven million to neighboring countries-, according to the latest UN data, which catalogs this crisis of refugees as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion was condemned by the international community at large, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia in everything from banking to energy to sports.
The UN presented as confirmed 5,587 civilian deaths and 7,890 wounded, stressing that the real figures are much higher and will only be known at the end of the conflict.
Source: Observadora
