Foreign Minister
Baerbock visits the southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa with Kuleba
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock together with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba at the Palanca border crossing in Moldova. photo
© Jörg Blank/dpa
It is a solidarity visit on the second anniversary of the start of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine. The Federal Foreign Minister is in the country for the sixth time since the start of the war.
Baerbock, like Kuleba, took part in meetings of the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council on Friday in New York on the second anniversary of the start of the war. The two politicians arrived in Berlin together on Saturday morning on board a German government plane. From there, Baerbock and Kuleba flew together to Moldova. They then drove by land to Odessa.
Meeting with Commander of the Ukrainian Naval Forces
At the beginning of her visit, Baerbock was informed about the current situation together with Kuleba in the port of Odessa. After a tour of the port through which much of Ukraine’s grain is exported, the commander of the Ukrainian Naval Forces briefed Baerbock on the security situation in the Black Sea.
Ukraine is one of the world’s most important grain exporters. From July 2022 to July 2023, the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was also negotiated with Turkey, enabled the export of almost 33 million tons of grain. After Russia did not renew the agreement, Ukraine established a military security corridor. According to the Ukrainian government, Ukraine then exported almost 20 million tons of cargo across the Black Sea in six months, 70 percent of which were agricultural products. In January, the monthly pre-war level for total export volumes by sea was reached, it was said.
Dead in Russian drone strike on Odessa
Before Baerbock’s visit, two drones landed in Odessa within 24 hours. Three people died in the flames in a destroyed sewing factory, then on Saturday night an elderly man died in a small apartment building. His wife was born under the rubble with severe burns, residents told the German Press Agency. Cleanup work was still underway at the site of the explosion on Saturday. In both cases, several drones were directed at targets.
According to their own statements, the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense system can destroy the majority of these weapons. According to a Ukrainian army spokeswoman, Russia used nine drones in the direction of Odessa. The spokeswoman described the attack as a further test of the Russian military’s anti-aircraft defense. Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev spoke out in favor of the annexation of Odessa on Thursday and emphasized: “This is our Russian city.”
Crisis diplomacy: G20 meeting, United Nations, Odessa
Baerbock traveled to New York directly from a meeting of foreign ministers from the G20 round of leading and emerging economic powers in Rio de Janeiro last Wednesday and Thursday. In Brazil, too, the discussions were overshadowed by the Russian war against Ukraine and the Gaza war in the Middle East.
At the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Baerbock called on the global community to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war. “If we care about a world where every life matters equally, it is up to each and every one of us to stand up against Russia’s war,” she said. In New York, Kuleba presented a joint statement from more than 50 nations calling on Russia to end the war. Kuleba called on Russian partners such as Iran, Belarus and North Korea to stop supplying arms and other military support to Russia. He expressed gratitude for the help to his country and said: “We are strong. We are united. We are determined. And we will deliver.”
Baerbock last visited Kiev at the beginning of October
Most recently, Baerbock and other EU foreign ministers made a historic joint visit to Kiev at the beginning of October to show support for Ukraine. According to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell at the time, it was the first time that such a meeting of representatives of all 27 EU states took place outside the EU.
Ukrainians mourn the dead
In Ukraine, many people mourn their relatives and friends killed in attacks or at the front, like in a cemetery west of Odessa on Saturday. There the widow Anna and her father-in-law Oleksandr brought a flag and sweets to the grave of Andriy, who was killed two months ago at the age of 38. They said he volunteered in March 2023 and was killed in the fighting in the Bakhmut area.