Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected in Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, ahead of next week’s planned trilateral discussions involving Russia and the United States in Abu Dhabi. Merz confirmed the visit during a speech to industry representatives, after reports of the trip began circulating the previous night. Zelenskyy’s travel plans are typically kept secret until shortly before a visit for security reasons.
Merz said he would meet Zelenskyy shortly after midday. Reflecting on last year’s meeting between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump at the White House, Merz said the scenes in the Oval Office had prompted Germany’s decision to accelerate its defence spending.
He said the experience had convinced him that Europe needed to be able to defend itself, while stressing that the increased effort was intended to strengthen Nato, not undermine it. “We are making Nato more European so it can remain transatlantic,” Merz said.
Before leaving for Berlin, Zelenskyy condemned overnight Russian attacks on critical infrastructure across Ukraine, saying they had caused emergency power outages. He said the strikes involved 289 drones, 59 cruise missiles and 17 ballistic missiles, and damaged civilian buildings, including a hospital in Kharkiv, where 73 people were injured.
Zelenskyy also said rescue work was continuing in Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhzhia region, where he reported that 29 people had been killed. He described the attacks on the day of the US congressional elections as a signal that should not go unnoticed, and called for help to defend Ukraine’s airspace and support efforts to establish peace.
Sources: The Guardian World.