Clear criticism of Russia: Pistorius arrives in Kyiv - talks on further military aid

Two weeks ago, German Defense Minister Pistorius and his Ukrainian counterpart Umerov signed an agreement in Berlin to finance long-range weapons produced in Ukraine. Now, the SPD politician's visit to Kyiv is focused on further support.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius wants to expand military aid to Ukraine. Upon arriving for talks with the government in Kyiv, the SPD politician condemned the intensified Russian airstrikes on the country, which he called "extraordinarily violent and threatening, with the large number of cruise missiles and drone attacks."

"This sends a clear signal from Moscow: There is currently no interest in a peaceful solution, but rather attacks are continuing with undiminished severity and, above all, civilian areas in Ukraine are increasingly being attacked," Pistorius said at the train station in Kyiv.

His trip demonstrates that the new German government continues to stand by Ukraine. Pistorius said: "Of course, it will be about what support from Germany and other European countries will look like in the future. What we can do, for example, in the area of ​​industrial cooperation, but also other types of support."

Despite international peace efforts, Russia has been intensifying its drone and missile attacks on Ukraine for some time now. At the beginning of the week, the most extensive Russian drone attack since the beginning of the war was reported: According to Ukrainian sources, 479 Shahed combat drones and their dummies were deployed, as well as four Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, 14 various cruise missiles, and two Ch-31 air-to-ground missiles.

Zelenskyy: Russia wants to conquer corridor to Romania

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of pursuing more far-reaching plans for conquest than officially disclosed. "Russian military plans are aimed at this region – Odessa – and then at the borders with Moldova and Romania," Zelenskyy said at a summit with heads of state and government from Southeast Europe in Odessa. Russia is seeking to sow chaos in the region in order to weaken Europe as a whole.

Shortly after the start of Russia's war of aggression, Rustam Minnekayev, a high-ranking general in Moscow, declared control over southern Ukraine and the land route to the breakaway region of Transnistria to be the war's aims. However, the Kremlin did not officially acknowledge this.