German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Tuesday to show support for the embattled nation amid growing uncertainty over Ukraine in Europe and a second Trump presidency just days away. File photo by Hannibal Hanschke/EPA-EFE
Jan. 14 (UPI) — German defense minister Boris Pistorius arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday on an unannounced visit in a show of support for Ukraine amid rising uncertainty with growing divisions in Europe and a second Trump presidency just days away.
Pistorius was scheduled to hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on additional military assistance to help Ukraine resist Russian aggression.
“It is important for me to show with this trip that we continue to actively support Ukraine. This is a signal that Germany, as the largest NATO country in Europe, stands by Ukraine’s side.
“Not alone, but together with five countries and many other allies,” said Pistorius as he stepped off a train from a Group of Five meeting Monday in Warsaw, Poland, on extending more military support to Ukraine with the defense ministers of Poland, France, Italy and Britain’s armed forces minister.
“If there is money, if there is capacity to produce weapons, then Ukraine itself will be able to supply its troops with materials and weapons faster than anyone else,” Pistorius told the group which was launched in November in response to Donald Trump‘s re-election amid fears he might curtail or end U.S. military aid to Ukraine.
In a joint statement, the group pledged open-ended backing for Ukraine by “fostering defense industrial cooperation.”
“We reiterate our unwavering support to Ukraine in its right of self-defense in order to counter Russia’s aggression and in achieving a just and lasting peace, in line with the international law, for as long as it takes,” the statement read.
The group said strong European defense industry and supply chains would be crucial to deterring Russia and called on their individual industrial sectors to work with Ukraine’s defense industry to build synergies and boost standards and production through industrial information exchange and joint ventures, either directly or by providing financial support.
With just seven days until President-elect Donald Trump was due to re-enter the White House, they stressed the importance of collective Western unity and security amid a worsening of the international situation.
“We reiterate the utmost importance of the transatlantic bond. Given the deteriorated security environment, we consider it to be of paramount importance to focus on our collective efforts to keep the [NATO] Alliance and Member States safe. We will achieve this through a stronger collective defense, in line with the NATO Concept for Deterrence and Defense of the Euro-Atlantic Area while maintaining NATO’s commitment to a 360 degree approach,” the group said.
Pistorius announced Monday the delivery of the first of six RCH 155 eight-wheeled howitzers to reinforce Ukrainian artillery, with a pledge to supply 54 of the vehicles in total.
However, Germany has halved funding allocated for military assistance for Ukraine in fiscal 2025 to around $4.38 billion and a snap election is due next month that could very well see Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ pro-Ukraine Social Democratic coalition ousted.