BERLIN (Reuters) – German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday that Ukraine needs support to ensure its very survival as Kyiv heads into its third winter of war exacerbated by North Korean weapons aid and massive Russian airstrikes on civilian infrastructure.
“We are countering this brutality with our humanity and support, so that Ukrainians can not only survive the winter, but so that their country can survive. Because they are also defending the freedom of all of us in Europe,” said Baerbock upon arriving in Kyiv on Monday on her eighth visit to Ukraine.
The German foreign minister, who was last in Ukraine in May, is due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and her Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, while in the capital.
Baerbock said Germany recently extended its emergency energy aid to Ukraine by an extra 170 million euros ($185.27 million) in response to bombed-out heating plants and power lines.
Since August, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine, in what Kyiv officials say is Moscow’s attempt to destroy critical infrastructure needed for heating during winter.
Russia will have to pay for the billions of euros in damage it has caused, said Baerbock, but until that happens, the Group of Seven (G7) will support Kyiv with some $50 billion in loans.
($1 = 0.9176 euros)
(Reporting by Alexander Ratz, writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Thomas Seythal)
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