Selenskyj arrived in Berlin – the night update without photos

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has traveled to Germany for political talks for the first time since the Russian attack on his country. “Already in Berlin,” Zelenskyi tweeted early Sunday morning. “Weapons. Strong package. Air defense, reconstruction. EU. NATO. Security.”, he added – keywords for the possible topics of conversation in Berlin. For security reasons, Selenskyj’s exact program was not initially disclosed. However, it was speculated that the guest from Kiev would be received by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).

The Charlemagne Prize for European Merit, awarded to Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people in December, will be awarded in Aachen on Sunday afternoon. The justification emphasized Zelenskyy’s role in repelling the Russian offensive war: he was not only the president of his people and the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army. He is “also the motivator, communicator, motor and mainstay between Ukraine and the great phalanx of supporters”.

The leader of the Greens, Britta Hasselmann, told the German news agency that Europe wanted to set a good example with the award: “We are on the side of the Ukrainians.” They will not give up their support for Ukraine – “humanitarian, economic and with weapons”. The Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst (CDU), spoke of a “strong signal in wartime”. “With President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, a determined fighter for the values ​​of a free Europe will be honored in Aachen.”

Last year Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaja and two fellow campaigners received the Charlemagne Prize, in 2021 Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Pope Francis are also laureates. The Charlemagne Prize is not awarded.

National air raid siren in Ukraine

A nationwide air raid siren went off early Sunday morning in Ukraine. According to local media reports, missile launches by several Russian Air Force strategic bombers from the Caspian Sea area were responsible for this. Information from the war zone cannot be independently verified. During the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), the hometown of the Ukrainian ESC participants Tvorchi was attacked by Russia on Saturday evening. Shortly before the duo’s performance in Liverpool, Russian missile explosions shook the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil to its foundations, regional council chairman Mykhailo Holovko said. Initially nothing was known about the damage and casualties.

Zelenskyj in Rome on Saturday

On Saturday, Selenskyj met President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Francis in Rome. The Ukrainian president campaigned in the Italian capital for further support for defense against Russian offensive war. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni promised the guest from Kiev help “as long as it is needed and beyond”.

Zelenskyj believes that the efforts of the Vatican for a peace dialogue with Russia have little chance. “With all due respect to the Pope, the point is that we do not need mediators between Ukraine and the aggressor who occupied our territories, but an action plan for a just peace in Ukraine,” he said on Rai 1. He was specifically asked about a possible mediating role for the pope, but in his answer he also counted other actors as possible mediators.

Selenskyj was last in Germany at the Munich security conference a few days before the start of the war 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. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president has been to Washington, Warsaw, Paris, London, Brussels, Helsinki and The Hague.

After the war started, Selenskyj accused the German government of being hesitant to supply arms to Ukraine. However, since the promise of Leopard 2 main battle tanks at the latest, that has diminished. Germany is one of Ukraine’s main supporters – both militarily and financially. Since the beginning of the war, the federal government has approved arms shipments worth 2.75 billion euros.

New billion dollar arms support program

The visit to Germany was prepared with the promise of further military aid to Ukraine worth an additional €2.7 billion. The German defense industry will, among other things, supply another 20 Marder armored cars, 30 Leopard 1 tanks and four Iris-T SLM anti-aircraft systems, the Defense Ministry announced on Saturday.

Pistorius confirms: “As long as it takes”

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) confirmed when the new package was announced: Germany would “provide all possible assistance – as long as it is needed”. According to its own statements, the federal government has already approved weapons and military equipment worth 2.75 billion euros for Ukraine since the Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022. There are also other materials that do not require approval. According to Pistorius, the aid amounts to “just over four billion euros”.

German population divided over arms deliveries

The German population is divided on the issue of arms supplies. In a survey by opinion research institute YouGov commissioned by the German news agency, 39 percent said that too many (weapon) weapons had already been delivered to Ukraine. 28 percent agree with the amount so far and 17 percent think Ukraine needs even more military support.

However, in the case of the currently controversial delivery of fighter jets of Western design, the rejection prevails. 49 percent are against, only 31 percent for. Ukraine wants American F16 aircraft, which the Bundeswehr does not have. However, the Ukrainian government hopes that Germany, as one of the most powerful NATO countries, will support its demand. Scholz has so far rejected the provision of Western-style fighter jets as unwise. (sda/dpa)