German Foreign Minister arrives in Kyiv
Photo: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Getty Images)
German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock arrived in Kyiv on Monday morning. She traveled to the Ukrainian capital by night train from Poland, Reuters and Der Spiegel reports.
“For nearly a thousand days, Putin's war has shaken the daily lives of Ukrainians - but not their courage and hope for a safe life in a free Ukraine,” Baerbock says upon arrival.
The Minister says that Ukraine needs support to ensure its survival as Kyiv enters the third winter of the war, which is being exacerbated by North Korean arms aid and massive Russian airstrikes on civilian infrastructure.
“We are countering this brutality with our humanity and support, so that Ukrainians can not only survive the winter, but so that their country can survive. Because they are also defending the freedom of all of us in Europe,” Baerbock says.
The German Foreign Minister, who was last in Ukraine in May, is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and her Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha during her visit to Kyiv.
German aid to Ukraine
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Germany has become the largest provider of military aid to Ukraine among European countries. In particular, Berlin transferred Patriot air defense systems, Leopard 2 tanks, PzH 2000 self-propelled artillery systems, and other weapons to support the Ukrainian military.
In August, it became known that by order of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, new requests for funding to help Ukraine would not be approved for the time being. At the same time, Germany has already earmarked about 8 billion euros for military support for Ukraine in 2024.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius emphasized that the government is ready to find additional resources to continue supplying weapons to Ukraine in 2024.
In addition, the German company Rheinmetall handed over another 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
