President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed Germany as a “true friend and reliable ally” after it announced it would provide €2.7bn in additional military aid for Ukraine and build an arms factory in the country.
Zelenskyy’s visit to Germany on Sunday, his first since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, marked a significant development in bilateral relations after Kyiv, at the start of the war, accused Germany of which denied its support for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy met German chancellor Olaf Scholz, president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and other officials a day after visiting Rome to meet Italian leaders and Pope Francis. Zelenskyy is also scheduled to arrive in Paris later Sunday for a surprise meeting with President Emmanuel Macron. This is the second such visit to France by the Ukrainian president, who also visited Paris in February for a joint meeting with Macron and Scholz.
Germany, which in January decided to send its Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, on Saturday announced that it will provide the country with additional weapons worth €2.7bn to Ukraine. According to the German defense ministry, Berlin has provided €4.2bn in military aid since 2022.
German heavy weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall on Saturday announced that it will build a factory to repair and service tanks in Ukraine in a joint venture with state-owned defense group Ukroboronprom.
The deliveries will include 18 self-propelled howitzers, four IRIS-T SLM air defense systems, 30 aging Leopard 1 MBTs and 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, as well as artillery ammunition. In a post on Twitter, Zelenskyy called the deal “the largest military aid package since the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia” and said German equipment “saves Ukrainian lives and brings us closer to of victory”.
Reflecting improved relations, defense minister Boris Pistorius said Germany would provide aid for “as long as necessary” to end “Russia’s war against the Ukrainian people”. In April last year, Steinmeier scrapped a visit to Ukraine after admitting he would not be welcome, although the German president met his Ukrainian counterpart in Kyiv in October.
Rheinmetall chief executive Armin Papperger said on Saturday that the German arms maker will “jointly manufacture selected Rheinmetall products in Ukraine” with Ukroboronprom.
On Sunday, Zelenskyy and Scholz traveled to the western German city of Aachen where the Ukrainian president and the people of his country were awarded a prize to honor achievements in promoting European unity.
Zelenskyy’s overnight flight to Berlin came as Russian forces carried out air strikes on Ternopil, a western city home to the electronic music duo Tvorchi who at the time represented Ukraine in the Eurovision finals. Song Contest. Won last year by Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, this year’s Eurovision was held in Liverpool in the UK instead of Ukraine due to security concerns.
Fighting around Bakhmut, the eastern city that Russian forces have been trying to capture for more than nine months, has intensified, with Moscow’s defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov saying on Sunday that one of its colonels was killed in the town and another in a separate front line. war
Zelenskyy arrived in Berlin after a trip to Rome, where he met with Italian president Sergio Mattarella and prime minister Giorgia Meloni, who said Rome endorsed the 10-point peace plan. in Kyiv.
Italy, which signed a joint declaration with Zelenskyy supporting Ukraine’s bid to join the EU and NATO military alliance, has contributed nearly 1 billion euros in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the start of the conflict. , including Samp-T air defense systems.
Zelenskyy met with Pope Francis, who has been criticized by some Ukrainians for his refusal to openly criticize Russia for its full-scale invasion. Pope Francis surprised many when he told reporters in early May that he was involved in a secret “peace mission”, which neither Kyiv nor Moscow said they knew anything about.
While Zelenskyy said he was grateful for the pope’s interest in the plight of more than 19,000 Ukrainian children taken to Russia, he also called on Pope Francis to hold Russia accountable and support the 10-point peace plan in Ukraine. The International Criminal Court earlier this year announced an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin, citing forced deportations of children in Ukraine.
“There is no equality between the victim and the aggressor,” said the president of Ukraine. “I also mentioned our peace formula as the only effective algorithm for a fair peace. I propose to participate in its implementation.”
Additional reporting by Giuliana Ricozzi in Rome