The German president travels to Ukraine for the first time to meet Zelensky

KIEV, 25 Oct. (DPA/EP) -

The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, arrived early Tuesday in the Ukrainian capital, kyiv, on a surprise trip where he hopes to meet his counterpart in Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky.

After having tried to travel to Ukraine on two other occasions, the German head of state wants to see with his own eyes the destruction caused by Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory, this being the first time that Steinmeier has traveled to the country since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, as reported by the German agency DPA.

"We will continue to support Ukraine, economically, politically and militarily," the German president told the media upon his arrival in kyiv, calling on the German people not to forget "what this war means for the people here."

"It was important for me to send a sign of solidarity to the Ukrainians, especially now in this phase of air strikes with drones, cruise missiles and rockets," Steinmeier added.

The German president had planned to visit the troubled country, as well as meet with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodimir Zelenski, for months. However, those attempts have so far been postponed by his security team, who have previously advised against the trip.

The decision to travel comes amid ongoing criticism of Steinmeier's ties to Russia and his failure, during his tenure as foreign minister, to heed warnings from Eastern European countries about the threat of aggression. Russian, according to the aforementioned agency.

However, the dispute between the Ukrainian and German presidents was resolved in early May.