German FM Baerbock visits Kyiv for talks with President Zelensky and FM Sybiha
Photo: Telegram / Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration
This morning, November 4, Annalena Baerbock, the German Foreign Minister, arrived in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. She had taken a night train from Poland to get here.
Reuters and Der Spiegel reported that.
After arriving, Baerbock said:
"For almost a thousand days, Putin's war has shaken the everyday life of Ukrainians – but not their courage and hope for a safe life in a free Ukraine."
Photo: Der Spiegel
At the same time, the minister said that Ukraine needs support. The diplomat recalled almost 1,000 days of missile terror, howling sirens and rumbling tanks, blackouts of electricity, heating and countless missed classes.
"For almost 1,000 days, Putin's war has shaken the everyday life of Ukrainians – but not their courage and hope for a safe life in a free Ukraine. For almost 1,000 days, Ukrainians have longed for peace. From the first day – and especially now – unwaveringly: Germany, together with many partners around the world, firmly stands on the side of Ukraine. We will support Ukrainians as long as they need us, so that they can follow their path to a just peace," she emphasized.
Baerbock noted the strength of spirit and resistance of Ukrainians despite the fact that the third winter of the war is not far away, and massive Russian airstrikes on civilian infrastructure continue, the offensive in the Kharkiv region and Donbas area continues, and armed aid is coming from North Korea. All this aggravates the situation even more, said the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"Putin wants to use his war of attrition to break the people of Ukraine and bring them to their knees," Baerbock said.
The answer to the countless bombed power plants and power lines is the "winter umbrella of protection," which Germany has recently expanded even further by allocating an additional 170 million euros for emergency energy aid, she said. The response to the increase in Russian drone terror is the initiative to strengthen air defense.
Baerbock assured that we will not be complacent, because "every single air defense system is important."
She emphasized that Russia will have to pay for the damages caused to Ukraine. Until this happens, the G7 will support Ukraine with a loan of up to 50 billion dollars, using the profits from the immobilized Russian state assets, the politician added.
"For almost 1,000 days, we looked to the future together. Putin wanted to tear Ukraine off from Europe once and for all. After almost 1,000 days, the country is closer to the EU than ever. We support the bold steps of the reform course and continue to encourage them, especially in the field of combating corruption and media freedom," the head of the German Foreign Ministry said.
For the head of the German Foreign Ministry, this is already her eighth visit to Ukraine.
During his stay in the capital, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, who was last in Ukraine in May, should meet with:
- President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky;
- and her Ukrainian colleague, Andrii Sybiha.
For reference:
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Germany has become the largest provider of military aid to Ukraine among European countries. In particular, to support the Ukrainian military, Berlin transferred:
- Patriot air defense systems,
- Leopard 2 tanks,
- PzH 2000 self-propelled guns and other weapons.
Specifically, Germany has reached an agreement to enhance Ukraine's air defense immediately. This agreement includes provisions for participating countries to collaborate on projects or fund their own projects to bolster the air defense capabilities of Ukraine's armed forces.
In August, media reports stated that Chancellor Olaf Scholz had directed that new requests for financial assistance to Ukraine would not be granted. However, Germany has already allocated approximately 8 billion euros to provide military aid to Ukraine until 2024.
At the same time, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius noted that the government will allocate additional funds to supply weapons to Ukraine in 2024.
In addition, the German company Rheinmetall handed over 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
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