For the first time since the beginning of the war
Selenskyj is coming to Germany – this weekend
05/13/2023 2:29 p.m
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is currently in Italy campaigning for support against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to government circles, it should then continue to Germany.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj will visit Germany this weekend for the first time since the Russian attack on Ukraine. Government circles in Berlin said that the visit will take place on Sunday. It was initially unclear whether Selenskyj would arrive on Saturday evening or only on Sunday. The exact program of the President on Sunday has not yet been announced.
The Charlemagne Prize for European Merit, which was awarded to Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people in December, will be presented in Aachen on Sunday afternoon. A visit to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in Berlin could be preceded. There has been speculation about this since an indiscretion by the Berlin police a week ago.
The advance of the police endangered the visit, because Zelenskyj’s trips abroad, of which there have already been several, are usually kept secret until the last minute for security reasons. This also explains the reluctance of the federal government to announce the program of visits. On Saturday Zelenskyj first visited Rome, where he met Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. An audience with Pope Francis was also planned.
Germany as an important supporter
Selenskyj was last in Germany a few days before the Russian invasion in February 2022 as a participant in the Munich Security Conference. For a long time after the start of the war, he accused the German government of being hesitant to deliver arms to Ukraine. At the latest since the promise of Leopard 2 main battle tanks, however, that has subsided.
Germany is one of the most important supporters of Ukraine – both militarily and financially. Since the beginning of the war, the federal government has approved arms deliveries worth 2.75 billion euros. On Saturday, she announced another multi-billion dollar support package.
Scholz has promised Ukraine support for as long as it is needed. However, he has also spoken out against the delivery of Western-style fighter jets, which Ukraine has been demanding for months.
In the German public, the war against Ukraine now plays a much smaller role than it did a few months ago. The majority of Germans want negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on a peace solution. According to a current survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the dpa, 55 percent are in favor of talks aimed at ending the war. Only 28 percent are against it. Ukraine, on the other hand, is currently categorically ruling out such negotiations and instead is initially demanding a complete Russian troop withdrawal from its territory – including the Crimean Peninsula.