[ad_1]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with German leaders at Berlin’s Bellevue Palace on Sunday morning, a day after Germany announced its largest military aid package to Kyiv and as the two countries seek to turn the page on strained relations.
The visit was Mr Zelensky’s first visit to Germany since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began more than a year ago. Mr Zelensky met for the first time with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the palace and was later received with military honors by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The big reception for Mr Zelensky came despite Mr Scholz, whose country is one of Ukraine’s biggest financial and military backers, among the last European leaders to receive a visit from the warlord.
Mr Zelensky and Mr Scholz hope to improve cooperation after a year marred by diplomatic sniping and wrangling over Berlin’s slow pace of arms shipments to Ukraine. Both sides understand that their relationship will be more important than ever before Ukraine’s counterattack against Russia, which will be fueled by the proliferation of advanced weapons provided by the West.
Mr Zelensky’s trip to Germany follows a visit to Rome, where peace talks were the main theme of meetings with Pope Francis and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Ukrainian and German officials have said privately that Mr Zelensky may hope to persuade Mr Scholz to play a more influential role when it comes to European support for the war, or even to mediate peace.
That is what the Chancellor refuses to do.
On Sunday, Mr Zelensky is expected to travel to the western German city of Aachen to receive the prestigious Charlemagne award for himself and the people of Ukraine. The award is given to those who have done the most to promote European unity.
Previous winners include Winston Churchill, Pope Francis, Angela Merkel and Bill Clinton. The judge’s decision to award a prize to Mr. Zelensky and the Ukrainian people emphasizes both how the war in Ukraine has united Europe and the irony that Ukraine is not part of the European Union, despite Kyiv’s strong entreaties to join.
A Russian missile attack hit Ternopil in western Ukraine
Russia fired a missile at the Ternopil region in western Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said, hitting the hometown of Ukraine’s Eurovision group during the song contest and showing Moscow’s ability to launch attacks far from the front lines.
The overnight attack involved a cruise missile and destroyed two houses, the region’s governor, Volodymyr Trush, said Sunday on the Telegram messaging app. Several houses, buildings and other vehicles were damaged, he added. While initial reports indicated that two civilians had been injured, on Sunday morning Mr. Trush said there were “no casualties from this extraordinary event.”
“Ternopil is the name of our hometown, which was bombed by Russia when we sang on the Eurovision stage about steel hearts, indomitability and will,” wrote Ukrainian in the competition, pop duo Tvorchi, on their Instagram page. Tvorchi finished in sixth place.
The attack took place in western Ukraine, less than 100 miles from Lviv, an area largely untouched by the war. It signals that even though the Kremlin’s weapons stockpile may have been depleted by the 15-month war, Russia retains the ability to target almost all parts of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia overnight had launched attacks across the country using drones and cruise missiles. It said in a post on Telegram that the air defense has intercepted 25 attack drones and three cruise missiles, but did not specify how many were able to pass.
The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, was among the targets. Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, said Ukrainian soldiers had intercepted and destroyed a Russian surveillance drone launched over Kyiv. It was not immediately possible to independently verify these claims.
But the Ukrainian military’s General Staff said in a morning update on Sunday that the Kremlin’s main focus was still on eastern Ukraine, with Bakhmut and Maryinka “remaining at the epicenter of the fighting.” In recent days, Kyiv forces have advanced on Bakhmut, where tens of thousands of soldiers are believed to have died.
[ad_2]
Source link