By Paul Ronzheimer and Filipp Piatov
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (66) has canceled his visit to Kyiv planned for Thursday.
The visit to the Ukrainian capital had been agreed for weeks. According to BILD information, the cancellation in Kyiv caused irritation.
As BILD learned, the Office of the Federal President justified the rejection with “security reasons”. A Ukrainian government official told BILD: “While the Federal President is canceling his visit, there are many international diplomats and guests who want to show their presence in the capital right now.”
The Greek Foreign Minister visited Kyiv on Wednesday. Another high-level visit from another head of state is expected on Thursday.
According to BILD information, the Federal Foreign Office, the Interior Ministry and German security authorities had advised the Federal President against traveling to Kyiv. The decision was made on Tuesday to cancel the visit – but it should be made up for in the near future.
For almost two weeks, Russia has repeatedly attacked the Ukrainian capital with rockets, cruise missiles and Iranian kamikaze drones. Several explosions were also heard in Kyiv on Wednesday. However, the Russian missiles were intercepted using the German IRIS-T air defense system.
A picture from Monday: rescue workers are in action after a Russian drone attack in downtown Kyiv. A week after the heavy rocket attacks against Ukraine, Russia again attacked the neighboring country with airstrikes on Monday in the middle of the morning rush hour Photo: dpa
The Steinmeier rejection harbors political explosiveness. In the spring, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyj (44) refused a visit by the Federal President to Kyiv. This resulted in months of disagreement between Kyiv and Berlin. In the summer, Zelenskyj finally invited the Federal President to visit the Ukrainian capital. Steinmeier and Selenskyj are said to have settled the disagreements during a telephone conversation.
The background to the cancellation was Steinmeier’s failed policy on Russia. As foreign minister, the SPD politician advocated good relations with Russia – even after the illegal annexation of Crimea and the covert Russian invasion of Donbass since 2014.
A drone in the sky over Kyiv Photo: Efrem Lukatsky/dpa
Only after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February did Steinmeier publicly admit his mistakes. In an interview with BILD am Sonntag, he explained: “My adherence to Nord Stream 2 was clearly a mistake. We held on to bridges that Russia no longer believed in and that our partners warned us about.”
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil (44) has now openly admitted that his party has made serious mistakes in Russia policy. “Blind spots have arisen in our dealings with Russia,” said Klingbeil. “And that has led to mistakes in dealing with Russia.”
Steinmeier was long considered the architect of German Russia policy and maintained a good relationship with Kremlin Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (72). Under ex-chancellor Gerhard Schröder (78), who hired as a gas lobbyist for Russian energy companies after his chancellorship, Steinmeier was head of the Federal Chancellery for several years.