Baerbock surprises in eastern Ukraine: Foreign Minister sees Russia's "absolute madness" in Kharkiv
Created: 01/10/2023, 16:48
By: Andreas Schmid
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kharkiv.
© Xander Heinl/Imago
Surprise visit by the Foreign Minister: Annalena Baerbock traveled to eastern Ukraine on Tuesday.
Kharkiv – The war is present in Kharkiv every day.
Less than 40 kilometers separate the eastern Ukrainian city from the border with the aggressor Russia.
Rockets from the neighboring country hit the region almost every day.
A visit to Kharkiv is a gamble.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) took the risk on this sunny and cold January day to deliver a message in the Ukrainian wartime winter.
Baerbock message to Ukraine: "You can count on our solidarity"
"People in all parts of Ukraine should know that they can count on our solidarity and our support," said Baerbock after arriving in Kharkiv on Tuesday.
In the greatest secrecy, she had traveled to the bullet-riddled city, which the minister sees as a "symbol of the absolute insanity of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine."
The battle front is currently about 130 kilometers away.
One and a half million people lived in Kharkiv before the war, 500,000 of them had to flee.
Baerbock says: "Today you can see deep traces of Russian destructiveness on practically every street corner."
"In this winter of war, don't lose sight of Ukraine's place in our European family": Annalena Baerbock.
© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa/Archive
Historical Baerbock visit: Arrival under the highest secrecy
Never since the beginning of the war has a foreign foreign minister ventured to Kharkiv.
The thermometer shows minus seven degrees Celsius when Baerbock climbs out of a silver-painted regional train at the station at noon.
Behind her lies a long night on rails through icy landscapes.
An arrival by plane is not possible because of the war.
Her colleague Dmytro Kuleba had invited Baerbock to Kharkiv so that she could get an idea of the situation on site.
Baerbock says she especially wants to listen to the residents "who are being hit so hard by the war in this bitterly cold winter, when temperatures at night are down to minus 15 degrees, that we can't even imagine it “.
(as/AFP)