German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in Ukraine late on October 24 for the first time since the beginning of the Russian invasion. This is reported by Reuters, citing a statement from his office.
During the visit, Steinmeier will discuss with the authorities the supply of weapons, assistance in the restoration of infrastructure, including the energy system and heating networks. The President said that he was looking forward to meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky.
“My message to the people of Ukraine is that you can count on Germany,” Steinmeier said.
Steinmeier was scheduled to arrive in Kiev on October 20, Bild reported that he canceled his visit to Ukraine "for security reasons." In April of this year, a German newspaper claimed that Zelensky refused to meet with Steinmeier because of his "close ties with Russia" and support for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. According to the interlocutor of the publication, a Ukrainian diplomat, Steinmeier was going to visit Kyiv on April 13 together with a delegation of the EU countries. The German president himself said back in early April that supporting Nord Stream 2 was a mistake. According to him, Germany "failed with the approach of integrating Russia into a common security architecture."