Kyiv, Ukraine, May 10 (Reuters) – Ukraine welcomed what it called a “historic turning point” when German Foreign Minister Analena Berbok visited Kyiv on Tuesday, supporting Ukraine’s bid for full membership in the European Union and severing energy ties with Russia.
Burbock is the highest-ranking German government official to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24, as the two countries sought to improve relations after disputes over issues such as arms supplies and sanctions.
Germany has thrown its weight behind the Russian oil embargo, and Baerbock has said it aims to reduce its Russian energy imports to zero, adding “and it will stay that way forever.”
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Following in the footsteps of the United States and Britain, Baerbock also announced the reopening of the German embassy in the Ukrainian capital, a symbolic vote of confidence after its diplomats were evacuated earlier.
Burbock, who visited with her Dutch counterpart, said the two countries would supply 12 howitzers to Ukraine and that training on how to operate them would begin immediately.
“The fact that Germany stands for peace, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine is a great historical turning point and I am grateful to the German government for this position,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
“I would like to thank Germany for changing its position on a number of issues. “We saw the first Russian missile hit Kyiv on February 24 and also hit the traditional German policy towards Russia,” he said at a joint briefing.
He cited as an example Germany’s changed position on arms supplies and its support for the oil embargo.
“UNKNOWN CRIMES”
German Foreign Minister Analena Burbock speaks during a session of the lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, April 27, 2022. REUTERS / Lisi Niesner / File Photo
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Baerbock’s first stop was in the city of Bucha, near Kyiv, where Russian forces have been accused of committing atrocities that Western countries say amount to war crimes.
Moscow, which has repeatedly denied targeting civilians in what it calls a “special operation” in Ukraine, described allegations that its forces executed civilians in Bucha as they occupied the city as a “monstrous forgery” aimed at denigrating the army. .
Touring the city with Ukraine’s chief prosecutor, Burbock said those responsible for the Bucha killings must be brought to justice.
“This is what we owe to the victims,” she said, speaking at a church where photos of corpses and bags were displayed. “And these victims, you can feel that here very intensively these victims can be us.”
She later said the city had become a symbol of unimaginable crimes, torture, rape and murder. The unimaginable makes this place look far away. And then you stand here and you understand: Bucha is a completely normal, quiet suburb. it happened to everyone. “
Relations between Kyiv and Berlin are strained. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not want to visit Ukraine because Kyiv did not want to receive German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Steinmeier, Scholz’s social-democratic ally, is unpopular in Kyiv because he has been linked to an earlier German policy of pursuing close trade and other ties with Putin.
Andriy Melnik, Ukraine’s outspoken ambassador to Berlin, called Scholz’s motives “an insulted liver sausage”, suggesting he was behaving like an irritable child.
Scholz is now planning a trip after he and Steinmeier were invited by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
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Report by Tom Balmfort in Kyiv, Alexander Ratz in Berlin, Bart H. Meyer in Amsterdam, Writing by Matthias Williams; Edited by Tomasz Janowski
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