FRANKFURT: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an unannounced visit to Germany on Thursday, his spokesman said, as Kyiv tries to ensure continued Western support for the embattled country.
Zelensky spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov said the purpose of the trip was “to visit the (US) military base in Wiesbaden, from where the assistance from partners is coordinated”.
On X, formerly Twitter, Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak posted simply a German flag and a flexed bicep.
A police spokesman in the German business capital Frankfurt told AFP earlier that Zelensky had “appointments in the Rhine-Main area”.
The spokesman said police officers had accompanied Zelensky from Frankfurt airport toward nearby Wiesbaden and had temporarily blocked off traffic for security reasons.
Germany steps up Ukraine weapons deliveries ahead of winter
Politico had reported Wednesday that German defense firms were given 24 hours to list armaments that could be sent to Ukraine next year, based on a request to industry from senior government officials.
Last year the US Department of Defense established a new organisation in Wiesbaden to coordinate long-term security force assistance.
As he urged allies in Europe and the US to keep backing Kyiv, Zelensky on Wednesday made an unannounced visit to Oslo for talks with the leaders of the five Nordic countries on the eve of a crunch European Union meeting in Brussels.
Earlier Thursday he joined the leaders of the 27 EU member states by video link, urging them not to hand Russia a political victory by denying vital support.
The EU’s leaders were focused at a crunch summit in Brussels on granting Kyiv a four-year 50-billion-euro ($55-billion) funding package and an agreement to launch formal EU talks for Ukraine on joining the bloc.
In both the US and the EU, internal disagreements are holding up aid packages for Ukraine worth billions of dollars.
With the counter-offensive launched by Ukraine in July failing to yield the anticipated results, Zelensky is trying to bolster international support.