Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. © Michal Dyjuk/AP/dpa/Archivbild
For the first time since the beginning of the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Germany.
Berlin - Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Berlin. At least that's what the Ukrainian president announced on Twitter on Sunday night (14 May). "Already in Berlin," he wrote at around 00:36. "Weapons. Powerful package. Air defense. Reconstruction. EU. NATO. Security," he added. Oleksii Makeiev, the Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin, also shared the news on his account.
It is the first visit of the Ukrainian president to Germany since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in February 2022.
Volodymyr Zelensky in Germany for the first time since the beginning of the war
Zelensky's specific program has not yet been announced for security reasons. However, there was speculation that the guest from Kiev will be received by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). On Sunday afternoon, the Charlemagne Prize for European Merit, which was awarded to Zelensky and the Ukrainian people in December, will be awarded in Aachen.
Government circles in Berlin had confirmed to the German Press Agency on Saturday that the visit will take place on Sunday. Shortly before his arrival, however, the German government had already sent the Ukrainian president a welcome: it promised him further weapons worth 2.7 billion euros for the defensive fight against the troops of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Most recently, Zelensky visited Germany a few days before the start of the Ukraine war, at the Munich Security Conference in February 2022. For the first ten months after the Russian invasion, he had not left the country at all. He changed that at the end of last year. In the meantime, he has been to Washington, Warsaw, Paris, London, Brussels, Helsinki and The Hague. On Saturday, he met Pope Francis and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome before continuing on to Germany. (jv with material from dpa and afp
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