Foreign Minister in Kyiv: WadePhul promises Ukraine persistent weapons aid

Federal Foreign Minister Johann WadePhul promises Ukraine in the face of persistent massive Russian air strikes. “The freedom and future of Ukraine is the most important task of our foreign and security policy,” said the CDU politician about his visit to Kiev. You will “stand at the side of Ukraine so that it can continue to defend itself successfully – with modern air defense and other weapons, with humanitarian and economic help”.

In the morning, the minister had arrived in the Ukrainian capital with a special train to the initial visit initially kept secret for security reasons. WadePhul was accompanied by representatives of the German armaments industry. On the edge of the visit, high -ranking discussions between business representatives and Ukrainian decision -makers should take place, it said from the Federal Foreign Office.

WadePhul had visited Ukraine for the first time on May 9 as the new Foreign Minister. At that time he took part in an informal meeting of the EU Foreign Minister in the West Ukrainian LWIW (Lemberg).

High -ranking representatives of the armaments industry accompany WADEPHUL

“In Ukraine, it is decided whether our Europe remains a place where freedom and human dignity count – or a continent on which violence shifts borders,” said Wadephul. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin does not want peace, but conquest and submission at all costs. “That is why we will continue to focus our concentration fully on the support of Ukraine.” This shows “our steadfastness as a European”.

While the Ukraine has repeatedly proven that it was ready for serious negotiations at the end of the war, Putin does not move away from any maximum claim, criticized WadePhul. The Kremlin chief does not want negotiations, but capitulation. As long as this is the case, Putin’s possibilities will be further restricted by sanctions. You continue to work with the greatest pressure.

“Work continued with the greatest pressure on sanctions”

On Friday, the EU’s 18th sanction package initially failed due to the resistance of Slovakia. A new vote was postponed at an indefinite time. The EU sanctions are primarily directed against the Russian economy and have the goal of taking the state the financial means for continuing the war of aggression against Ukraine.

Political conversations and memory of Holocaust victims

In Kiev, WadePhul wanted to come together with his counterpart Andrij Sybiha, among other things, and in the memorial Babyn Jar to commemorate the victim of the mass murder of the Jewish population under the German occupation in 1941. In the narrow gorge of Babyn Jar on the former outskirts of Kiev, the National Socialists shot on 29/30. September 1941 more than 33,000 Jewish men, women and children.

WadePhul’s predecessor Annalena Baerbock (Greens) most recently traveled to Kiev in early April as the executive Minister of Foreign Affairs. It was her ninth journey of solidarity since the beginning of the war in February 2022. In total, Baerbock had visited Ukraine eleven times since she took office in 2021.

Ukraine: Highest number of attacks since the start of the war

The Ukrainian Air Force had announced on the weekend that Russia had fired more than 500 drones, rockets and marching missiles on Ukraine during the night of Sunday. The number of 537 such attacks has been the highest since the beginning of the war, reported media in Ukraine. Accordingly, there were injured and serious damage to civilian infrastructure.

The Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj then confirmed demands to exert more pressure on Putin in order to end the war. Ukraine has to strengthen their air defense and is ready to buy anti -aircraft systems, especially from the USA.