The head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, on a surprise visit to kyiv, said on Tuesday that Ukraine “urgently needs” more air defense in the face of Russian bombing of the Kharkiv region in the northeast from the country. Annalena Baerbock arrived in Ukraine after a new Russian night attack by explosive drones on the city of Kharkiv and other regions of the country.
“The situation in Ukraine has once again dramatically worsened with massive Russian airstrikes on civilian infrastructure and the brutal Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region,” Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday, after arriving by night train in Ukraine. Ukrainian capital. To protect Ukraine from the “rain of Russian missiles and drones,” the country “urgently needs strengthened air defense,” she added. This is Annalena Baerbock’s eighth visit to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
Assuring Ukrainian interlocutors of Germany’s support
The aim of his visit is to assure Ukrainian interlocutors of Germany and the EU’s support, even in view of the worsening fighting situation, according to the Foreign Ministry. “Our support is based on the deep conviction that Ukraine will win this war,” Annalena Baerbock further underlined in kyiv.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speculates that “at some point we will run out of air, but we have the capacity to hold on,” she added. kyiv is asking the West for more air defense systems to protect this region bordering Russia, which is regularly the target of bombings.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Russian assault launched on May 10 in the sector could be the “first wave” of a much broader offensive. The Ukrainian Air Force also indicated on Tuesday that it had shot down 28 Shahed explosive drones out of 29 launched by Russia during the night, notably in the city of Kharkiv, the second largest in the country, and in the southern and central regions of Ukraine.
In Kharkiv, around thirty trucks, buses and cars were damaged, and two houses, a garage and a minibus burned by falling drone debris, said the regional governor, Oleg Synegoubov, on Telegram Two people were also injured early in the city, “following a rocket attack on a transport company”, added the governor.