German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock traveled to the Ukrainian city of Kharkov on Tuesday, from where she assured that Berlin will continue to support Kiev in the framework of the war and will support its accession to the European Union.
On her visit to Kharkov – the first by a representative of the German government and kept secret for security reasons – Baerbock was accompanied by her Ukrainian counterpart, Dimitro Kuleba, and the German ambassador in Kiev, Oleksii Makeiev.
The head of German diplomacy stressed that the Ukrainian population «must know that they can count on the solidarity and support of Germany» and asked «not to lose sight of Ukraine’s place in the European family, even during the winter of war».
As regards Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, Baerbock insisted that Kiev can count on the support of Berlin, which will make concrete offers for the Eastern European country to move towards the strengthening of the rule of law, the independence of institutions, the fight against corruption and the adaptation to the standards of the European bloc.
The German minister was received on her arrival in Kharkov by the regional governor, Oleg Sinyehubov, and the mayor of the city, Igor Terekhov. Once there, she visited a power station destroyed by Russia as part of the ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Later, Baerbock went to a children’s hospital, where he met with patients and their parents, and gave the children some gifts such as crayons and spare batteries.
He also went to a children’s school, where he checked the climatic conditions of the infrastructure, whose heating system was also targeted by the Russian Armed Forces.
Kharkov is one of the cities most devastated by Russia in the framework of the war. According to the city authorities, more than 8,000 houses have been damaged by artillery and rocket attacks launched by the Russian side.
However, following the success of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, residents of much of the region are returning to their homes and trying to lead normal lives despite daily air alerts.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
