Ukraine
Because of Russian drone: Baerbock cancels Mykolaiv visit
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Alliance 90/Greens) in front of the destroyed building of the Mykolaiv regional administration in Ukraine
© Thomas Trutschel/Foreign Office/Imago Images
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had to cut short her visit to Mykolaiv for security reasons. The trigger was a Russian reconnaissance drone.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) is visiting the southern Ukrainian city Mykolaiv canceled early on Sunday due to an air alert. According to AFP information, during the visit to the city near the front, a Russian reconnaissance drone was spotted, which followed the minister’s delegation at times and finally turned away. The Foreign Office therefore decided to leave immediately for security reasons.
Such flights by Russian reconnaissance drones are usually followed by a direct Russian air strike. The Ukrainian authorities used a warning app to ask residents of the Mykolaiv region to immediately seek safety in the nearest bunker.
Baerbock and his column leave Mykolaiv
The minister and her delegation continued their departure in a column of armored vehicles at high speed – in such a situation, the “safest option” was to keep moving, the delegation said.
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The drone warning came as the minister was visiting a water treatment plant built with German help in the city near the front, as an AFP reporter who accompanied the minister reported. The delegation set off immediately.
Two years of war in Ukraine
Right at the start of Russia’s war of aggression two years ago, the strategically important port city of Mykolaiv was one of the first targets hit by missiles. Despite massive attacks, the city successfully defended itself against Russian conquest. Rockets and drones continue to hit Mykolaiv regularly – most recently at the beginning of February.
Since the beginning of the war, more than 1,300 apartment buildings and over 1,000 single-family homes in Mykolaiv have been destroyed or damaged in the attacks. Over 180 people were killed. The port, which is important for the city’s economy, is currently out of operation due to the war.
Baerbock had already been confronted with an air alert the evening before. In the port city of Odessa, the minister had to seek refuge in an air raid shelter in the basement of her hotel for around 15 minutes, after which the air alert was lifted. On the previous two nights, Russian rockets had struck the port city on the Black Sea, which is about 110 kilometers west of Mykolaiv as the crow flies.