According to a spokesman for Agence France-Presse, the unexpected visit by German President Frank-Valter Steinmeier to Ukraine was confirmed when he arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday.
According to the text of his spokeswoman, Steinmeier stated, “I am looking forward to my meeting with President Voludmir Zellinski in Kyiv.”
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, this is Steinmeier’s first trip to the country.
Senior European politicians had previously visited Kyiv during earlier phases of the war when they were safe from fighting, but those trips have since dwindled as Russia has recently resumed shelling the capital.
Prior to it, German Defense Minister Christine Lambreach also paid an unexpected visit to Ukraine. It was her first trip there since Russia attacked the country in February, during which Kiev Berlin requested her to send combat tanks.
Without identifying the duration of the trip, the German Ministry of Defense stated in a statement that Labbarakht visited the southern coastal city of Odessa. She said on Twitter that she had spoken with Olexi Residence, her counterpart from Ukraine.
A day after Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Logansk, Zaburigia, and Khairsson, Ukraine’s allies unanimously denounced these annexation activities during the time of Lambrecht’s visit.
The German president makes a surprise visit to Kiev.
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