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German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has arrived in Kyiv to discuss support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, the foreign ministry said on Monday. Germany has been a key partner of Ukraine throughout the ongoing conflict.
“We will continue to stand firmly by Ukraine’s side so that it can continue to defend itself successfully – with modern air defence and other weapons, with humanitarian and economic aid,” Wadephul said in a statement.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for help from Washington and Western allies to bolster Ukraine’s air defences after a Russian attack on Sunday that involved hundreds of drones, cruise and ballistic missiles.
Germany is Ukraine’s second-biggest military backer after the United States, whose commitment to Kyiv has been called into question, putting pressure on Europe to step up.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautioned Germany that Moscow would consider it to be directly involved in the war in Ukraine if Berlin supplied Kyiv with Taurus cruise missiles, but said he was ready to speak to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stated earlier this month that Germany is not considering delivering Taurus cruise missiles, which have a range exceeding 480 km, to Ukraine despite Kyiv’s repeated requests.
Putin said that to fire the Taurus missiles, Ukraine would need Western satellite intelligence and German officers to take care of targeting, which, if they were fired at Russia, would mean German officers striking Russian territory.
“What is this, if not the involvement of the Federal Republic in a direct armed conflict with the Russian Federation? It can’t be called anything else,” Putin told senior news agency editors in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg late last month.
“We consider the Federal Republic, just like many other European countries, not a neutral state, but as a party supporting Ukraine, and in some cases, perhaps, as accomplices in these hostilities,” Putin said.
Putin has, however, said that even if Germany did supply the missiles, it would have no impact on the ultimate course of the war, adding that troops of Russia were advancing in all directions.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
