Ukrainian president hails German contributions to peace, territorial integrity

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Ukrainian president on Tuesday highlighted Germany's contributions to efforts to end the war with Russia, as well as to restore Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Ahead of a meeting with his visiting German counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram: "Welcome to Kyiv Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier! Germany's contribution to our path to peace and restoration of territorial integrity is really significant."

Prior to the meeting, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko showed Steinmeier the damage caused by Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital's infrastructure.

"Today, I showed German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier the consequences of terrorist attacks by Russian barbarians in the center of Kyiv," Klitschko said on Telegram.

Klitschko noted that they talked about further support for Ukraine and its need for weapons and air defense systems to "protect the homes of the people of Kyiv and all Ukrainians."

Steinmeier arrived in Kyiv earlier on Tuesday for the first time since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in February.

Upon his arrival, Steinmeier conveyed messages of solidarity and support to Ukraine's people through his spokeswoman.

German Presidential Spokeswoman Cerstin Gammelin shared Steinmeier's twofold message on Twitter, which underlined that the Ukrainian people could "count on Germany" in continuing to support Ukraine "militarily, politically, financially and in the humanitarian sense."

During his visit, Steinmeier also visited the northern Chernihiv region, where he spoke with local residents and media outlets in a bomb shelter due to an air raid alert announced in the region.

During a phone conversation between the two presidents on Thursday, Zelenskyy had previously thanked Steinmeier for the first IRIS air defense system sent to Ukraine.