Merz, Christian Democratic Union’s choice for German chancellor, visits Kyiv

Friedrich Merz, the candidate for Chancellor of Germany from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), arrived in the Ukrainian capital with an unannounced visit.

Spiegel reports this.

"Putin will only go to negotiations when Ukraine can defend itself.

Today, I visited Kyiv to learn about the situation in Ukraine and where we can provide support," Merz wrote on his Twitter account.

It is noted that Merz arrived in Kyiv by special train in the morning. Plans for his visit were kept secret for security reasons.

"If our support for Ukraine weakens, this war will last longer. If our support for Ukraine is consistent, this war will end faster," Merz said after his arrival and added that he was looking forward to meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to him, he is looking forward to meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky during the visit.

As is known, Friedrich Merz is a candidate for Chancellor of Germany from the conservative Christian Democratic bloc. The bloc is currently leading in the polls before the Bundestag elections, which will be held in February 2025.

This is Merz's second visit to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war with the Russian Federation. The previous time he visited Ukraine was in May 2022. Then he visited Irpin and noted that he "was and remains absolutely shocked. These are not the kind of insults that you forget in a hurry. You can't just watch this on TV. To realize the full tragedy of these attacks, you have to see it with your own eyes."

Just last week, the current head of the German government, Olaf Scholz, visited Ukraine.

For reference:

In the beginning of November, the governing coalition in Germany fell apart following the removal of Finance Minister Christian Lindner. On November 8, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier handed the ministers their resignation letters.

After that, Scholz announced his readiness to submit a vote of confidence to the Bundestag.

Sometime later, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) officially nominated Scholz as its leading candidate for Chancellor in the upcoming federal elections.