Habeck's trip comes as Ukraine is in dire need of foreign assistance to fend off daily Russian attacks (Courtesy)
KYIV, Ukraine
German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck arrived
in Ukraine on Thursday on a surprise trip.
The visit comes as Russia
carries out daily air attacks on Ukraine, targeting Ukrainian infrastructure
such as power stations in particular.
Upon his arrival at Kyiv train
station, Habeck said his visit comes as Ukraine needs every bit of support it
can get to fight for its freedom.
"And it is indeed a fight
for freedom," Habeck said. "Yes, Ukraine is fighting for its
self-determination, for its territorial integrity against Putin's aggression,
but it is also a fight for the values that unite and make up Europe."
Later in the day, Habeck is
expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Deputy
Prime Minister and Economics Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, and Energy Minister
German Galushchenko, among others.
Habeck is also Germany's
economic affairs minister. His trip is in preparation for the Ukraine Recovery
Conference in Berlin in June, which will center on the reconstruction needs of
Ukraine due to Russia's war.
German Chancellor Olaf
Scholz's Cabinet last week approved a 15-point plan for the economic
reconstruction of Ukraine.
The package of measures
included financial subsidies and low-interest finance for small and
medium-sized companies in Ukraine, as well as investment guarantees for German
companies.
Ukraine faces an increasingly
difficult situation in its war to repel Russia's invasion. For months, Kyiv has
repeatedly appealed to its allies to provide more ammunition and more resources
for air defense. Meanwhile, the Russian army has recorded a series of terrain
gains in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks.
Habeck is expected to travel
on to Moldova to meet Prime Minister Dorin Recean. The country's
pro-Western leadership is striving to join the EU and sees Moldova,
which borders on Ukraine, as also facing a security threat from Moscow.
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