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Ursula von der Leyen during her trip to Kyiv in September 2022
Photo:
Efrem Lukatsky / dpa
This article will be continuously updated.
Von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv
8.40 a.m .:
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and 15 other Commission members arrived in Kiev in the morning for talks with the Ukrainian government.
"We are here together to show that the EU is as committed to Ukraine as ever," von der Leyen wrote on Twitter.
Topics of the deliberations in Kyiv should be in particular further support options and the EU accession prospects for the country attacked by Russia.
Der Leyen's trip to Ukraine is her fourth since the Russian invasion.
However, it is the first time that the former German defense minister is accompanied by several commissioners.
Among those present was the external representative Josep Borrell.
The highlight of the trip is to be an EU-Ukraine summit on Friday.
EU Council President Charles Michel is also expected to attend, but not the heads of state and government of the 27 member states.
70 Ukrainian soldiers for anti-aircraft training in Germany
8:23 a.m .:
Ukrainian soldiers have arrived in Germany for training on the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system.
According to SPIEGEL information, the group landed on Tuesday and is scheduled to start training today.
Altogether it is a group of about 70 Ukrainians.
In consultation with the United States, the federal government wants Ukraine to have an entire Patriot system to ward off Russian attacks with drones, rockets or planes.
These typically include a fire control center, radar, power generator, and six or more of the truck-mounted launchers.
Meanwhile, the Patriot units that had been relocated to Poland reported "initial operational readiness," as the Operations Command had announced on Wednesday.
The Bundeswehr wants to support the defense of Polish airspace with three anti-aircraft missile squadrons.
Fire in Sevastopol kills five
8.15 a.m .:
Five people died in a fire in a shelter for construction workers in the port city of Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia.
The bodies of the five men were discovered after the extinguishing work, the Russian state agency Tass reported in the morning.
The cause of the fire was initially unknown.
svs/dpa/Reuters/AFP