Baerbock surprisingly in eastern Ukraine: arrival under the utmost secrecy
Created: 01/11/2023 05:37
By: Andreas Schmid
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kharkiv.
© Xander Heinl/Imago
Surprise visit from Annalena Baerbock: The Green politician traveled to eastern Ukraine on Tuesday.
She is the first female foreign minister in the war-torn city.
Historical
Baerbock
visit: Arrival under the utmost secrecy
Weapons
for
Ukraine
?
Baerbock speaks of "further deliveries".
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news ticker
on diplomacy in the
Ukraine war
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Update from January 10, 7.30 p.m
.: New details on Annalena Baerbock’s trip to Kharkiv.
The foreign minister first went to Kyiv by train, news agencies report.
From the Ukrainian capital, where Ukraine is preparing for a new Russian attack, we then went on to Kharkiv.
Due to the war, it is currently not possible to travel to Ukraine by plane.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen) is sitting on the Intercity Express from Kyiv to Kharkiv during her trip to eastern Ukraine and has Anna Shyla's book "Woman of War" lying on the table in front of her.
© Jörg Blank/dpa
Baerbock message to Ukraine: "You can count on our solidarity"
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.
"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.
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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 “.
Weapons for Ukraine?
Baerbock speaks of "further deliveries"
In Kharkiv, the minister also spoke of "further arms deliveries that Ukraine needs to free its fellow citizens who are still suffering from the terror of the Russian occupation".
Baerbock's visit comes a few days after the German government's commitment to supply German armored personnel carriers to Ukraine settled another point of contention in the mutual relationship.
Baerbock's party friends in Berlin are among those who now want to deliver even heavier military equipment - namely the Leopard battle tank - to the Ukraine.
However, the federal government disagrees.
(as/AFP)
