Ukraine’s Zelensky on surprise visit to Germany

FRANKFURT, Germany - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an unannounced visit to Germany on Dec 14, 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 (United States) military base in Wiesbaden, from where the assistance from partners is coordinated”.

On X, formerly Twitter, Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff, Mr Andriy Yermak, posted simply a German flag and a flexed bicep.

A police spokesman in the German business capital Frankfurt told AFP earlier that Mr Zelensky had “appointments in the Rhine-Main area”.

The spokesman said police officers had accompanied Mr Zelensky from Frankfurt airport towards nearby Wiesbaden and had temporarily blocked off traffic for security reasons.

Politico had reported on Dec 14 that German defence firms were given 24 hours to list armaments that could be sent to Ukraine in 2024, based on a request to industry from senior government officials.

In 2022, the US Department of Defence 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,

Mr Zelensky on Dec 14 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 on Dec 14,

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 (S$70 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, Mr Zelensky is trying to bolster international support. AFP