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Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens): "Don't lose sight of Ukraine's place in our European family."
Photo: Jörg Blank / dpa
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has pledged continued support for Ukraine against Russia's war of aggression and on its way to the European Union (EU).
The people of Ukraine should "know that they can rely on our solidarity and our support," assured the Greens politician on Tuesday when she visited the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv near the Russian border, which was badly hit by the war.
Winter aid with generators, fuel and blankets
During the visit to Kharkiv, which was initially kept secret for security reasons, Baerbock was accompanied by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and the Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev.
She is the first German cabinet member to travel to eastern Ukraine and the long-contested Kharkov since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression.
The city of over a million inhabitants, which is only a good 20 kilometers from the border with Russia, has recently been subjected to Russian attacks.
The support includes winter aid with generators, fuel and blankets, but "also other arms supplies that Ukraine needs to free its fellow citizens who are still suffering from the terror of the Russian occupation," Baerbock explained.
She visited the country just days after the German government's decision to supply German Marder-type armored personnel carriers, which Ukraine had repeatedly requested.
Baerbock emphasizes Ukraine's EU prospects
It is important to her "that we do not lose sight of Ukraine's place in our European family even in this winter of war," added the minister.
Ukrainians see their future in the EU.
The federal government wants to make concrete offers so that the country can make progress in strengthening the rule of law, independent institutions, fighting corruption and aligning with EU standards.
Because the airspace over Ukraine is still closed, Baerbock first took a special train from Poland to the capital Kyiv at night.
From there, together with Kuleba and her delegation, she took the regular Intercity Express 722 to Kharkiv shortly after 7 a.m. local time in the morning.
The route is served by modern Korean trains purchased by Ukraine for the 2012 European Football Championship.
Kharkiv is one of the most war-affected cities in Ukraine.
According to the city administration, more than 8,000 houses were damaged by artillery and rocket attacks.
During Baerbock's visit there was also an air raid in Kharkiv.
Almost every house in the Saltivka district was damaged.
But after the successful counter-offensive by the Ukrainians, the residents are returning here and trying to build up a normal life despite daily air raid alarms.
According to Governor Oleh Synyehubov, around 1.1 million people were living in the city again at the end of December - that's almost 80 percent of the pre-war number.
muk/dpa
