German foreign minister in surprise visit to Kyiv

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock paid a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday, assuring Ukraine of her country’s unshakable support and hailing its advancement towards EU membership.

German foreign minister visit to Kyiv: Upon her visit, the foreign ministry issued a statement with Baerbock’s remarks: “With enormous courage and determination, Ukraine is also defending the freedom of all of us.”

In addition, Ukraine may “count on us” in return, said Baerbock.

We “won’t let up in our efforts to support Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression: economically, militarily, and in the humanitarian” area, according to Baerbock.

Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Baerbock has made four trips to Ukraine.

During this visit, Ukrainian officials are likely to bring up the country’s application to join the European Union.

The EU granted Ukraine candidature status a year ago, and this year, it hopes to start official negotiations on the steps it must take to strengthen its membership ambition.

Although Baerbock acknowledged that Ukraine had achieved “good progress” in some areas, such as judicial reforms, he added that there was still “some way to go” in terms of combating corruption.

Germany’s “resolute support for Ukraine on its way into the European Union” was reiterated by her.

She continue, “The EU must act swiftly to ensure that we are well-positione to add more seats to the table.” Baerbock also expressed shock at the forced removal of Ukrainian children to Russia in the statement.

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, “will stop at nothing” to subjugate the Ukrainian people, she claimed.

The groups, Ukrainian government, and NGOs seeking to repatriate the kidnapped children have our support, according to Baerbock. Nothing, she argued, “justifies carrying out this war at the expense of the most helpless, the children.”

“Letting these kids go home is the first step towards peace,” said Putin.