Status: 10/19/2022 8:47 p.m
A visit by Federal President Steinmeier to Ukraine has been pending for a long time – it should be ready on Thursday. But now the trip has apparently been postponed due to safety concerns.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier was actually expected in Ukraine on Thursday. But as reported by several media, the Federal President canceled this trip at short notice – for security reasons, as it is said.
Steinmeier’s visit had been planned for weeks, as reported by “Bild” and “Stern”. In the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, the Federal President should have met with President Volodymyr Zelensky for talks. But the Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and German security authorities advised against the trip.
Repeated rocket attacks on Kyiv
For about two weeks, the Russian military has intensified its rocket attacks on several targets in Ukraine. Kyiv also reported repeated shelling. Also on Wednesday rockets and combat drones were fired in the direction of Kyiv from the territory of the Russian ally Belarus.
Ukraine accuses Russia of wanting to use these airstrikes across the country to destroy critical infrastructure. An energy plant in Kyiv was also damaged on Wednesday. As a result, the power and water supply were partially interrupted. The information cannot be independently verified.
conflicting parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.
First off, then invited
Steinmeier’s trip should be made up for in the near future, the “Bild” reported further. It would have been the Federal President’s first visit to Ukraine since the start of the Russian war of aggression.
Steinmeier’s first trip was already planned for April – together with the Presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. However, the Ukrainian government refused Steinmeier’s visit, citing Steinmeier’s pro-Russia policies of the past few years as the reason. Steinmeier himself had previously admitted to making mistakes.
It was only at the beginning of May that Steinmeier and Zelenskyj finally managed to clear up the diplomatic upset through a telephone call. The Ukrainian President invited Steinmeier to travel to Ukraine. Since then, several German politicians have traveled to the war country, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz.