The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskydescribed this Sunday as a “true friend” and “reliable ally” to Germany, whose government announced a new arms shipment to support the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia.
(Read here: Zelensky asks the Pope to condemn ‘Russian crimes in Ukraine’)
Berlin was armored for Zelensky’s first visit to Germany since the Russian invasion began 15 months ago, and during which he was received by the head of the German government, Olaf Scholz, with full military honors.
(See also: In Ukraine they know well that peace is the only victory)
“I would like to sincerely thank you, Olaf, as well as all the German people, for every Ukrainian life saved thanks to your support,” the Ukrainian leader said at a joint press conference.
Scholz assured that Berlin would support Ukraine “for as long as necessary”, and indicated that its commitment to kyiv, including weapons, already amounts to 17 billion euros (18.4 billion dollars).
The two leaders were to travel after the meeting to Aachen (west), where Zelenski will receive the Charlemagne Prizewhich rewards commitment to European unification.
‘Trusted ally’
Zelensky, who claims not to “attack Russian territory” and to focus on the liberation of the occupied territories, asked Scholz to support the delivery of fighter planes, something Germany has so far rejected.
He was also open to peace “discussions” but “only” under Ukrainian conditions.
The Ukrainian president also met his counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday.
“During the most difficult time in the modern history of Ukraine, Germany proved to be our true friend and our reliable ally,” he thanked in the guest book of the German presidency.
On the occasion of his visit, the German government announced on Saturday a new military aid plan for Ukraine worth 2.7 billion euros (about $2.9 billion).
Zelensky and his foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, participated in a meeting with several German ministers, including the head of diplomacy Annalena Baerbock.
Relations between kyiv and Berlin on military aid have long been tense.and Germany has been criticized for not delivering enough weapons, although it has intensified its support in recent months.
Zelensky visited Rome on Saturday, where he met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Francis at the Vatican, whom he thanked for their “attention” to the “tragedy of millions of Ukrainians.”
This tour comes amid preparations for a counter-offensive by the Ukrainian army and as both Ukraine and Russia claim advances on the front around the city of Bakhmut.
The new German package includes dozens of tanks, armored vehicles, surveillance drones and four new Iris-T air defense systems.
However, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrij Melnyk said it was not enough.
the german position
“It is a pity that most of the promised defense systems are old,” the former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany lamented on Welt TV, urging to break the “taboo” on the delivery of combat aircraft.
Ukraine is trying to regain ground in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions (east), as well as in Kherson and Zaporizhia (south), whose annexation Russia claims.
This Sunday, the head of the Russian Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgueni Prigozhin, once again pointed out the inaction of the Russian regular army in Bakhmut, the epicenter of the fighting.
Prigozhin, in full conflict with the Russian hierarchy, accused “the airborne forces” of not supporting his men, in a press release.
On the ground, the Ukrainian army said on Saturday that it was “advancing” around the city of Bakhmut, the epicenter of fighting with Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.
Russia assured, for its part, that it continues to advance in this devastated city, for the most part under its control.
The Russian Defense Ministry affirmed this Sunday that it attacked Ternopil (west) and Petropavlivka (central-east), in Ukraine, sites that housed Western weapons delivered to Kiev to repel Moscow’s offensive.
In a rare announcement of battlefield casualties, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that commanders Vyacheslav Makarov and Yevgeny Brovko died “heroically.”
AFP
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