German Foreign Minister Analena Berbock arrived in Kiev on an unannounced visit. His visit was not announced in advance due to security reasons.
"Germany, together with many partners of the world, firmly stands by Ukraine," the German Foreign Minister said in Kyiv. His words were quoted by the press service of the German Foreign Ministry. The minister reminded that Germany has recently expanded the so-called winter defense umbrella, allocating an additional 170 million euros for energy aid to Ukraine.
He also referred to Germany's air defense initiative.
"Every air defense system is important," he said. At the same time, he insisted that Ukraine is "closer to the EU than ever".
"We support the bold steps of the reform course and continue to encourage them, especially in the field of media freedom and the fight against corruption," concluded the German Foreign Minister.
This is Berbek's eighth visit to Ukraine since the start of the Russian special military operation on February 24, 2022. The last time he visited Kyiv was in May 2024.
Germany is the second country supplying arms to Ukraine after the USA. Germany has so far allocated funds for military support to Kiev and committed to future spending of around 28 billion euros.
