Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Berlin on the night of Saturday May 14 to Sunday May 15. The Ukrainian president was welcomed in the early morning by the German head of state for talks notably devoted to the delivery of new weapons worth 2.7 billion euros announced by Germany. Follow our live.
A first in Germany. Volodydmyr Zelensky meets President Franz-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin at his residence at Bellevue Palace, in the heart of the capital. After Rome and the Vatican the day before, this is the Ukrainian president’s first trip to Germany since the start of the conflict.
New military aid from Berlin. On the occasion of his visit, the German government announced on Saturday that it was preparing a new military aid plan for Ukraine of 2.7 billion euros. “Germany will provide all the help it can, for as long as necessary”, assured the Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius. Deliveries include dozens of tanks, armored vehicles, surveillance drones and four new Iris-T air defense systems.
Volodydmyr Zelensky rewarded. The Ukrainian head of state will also travel to Aachen in the afternoon on board a German government Airbus, to be awarded the Charlemagne prize, confirms on Twitter the French ambassador to Germany. This distinction rewards a commitment to European unification.
In the fieldthe Ukrainian army claimed “to advance” around Bakhmout, the epicenter of fighting with Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. Moscow ensures for its part to continue its progress in the city already mainly under its control and today largely devastated. According to a Ukrainian judicial source, a Russian strike near Bakhmout on Saturday left two dead and ten injured, including children.