Steinmeier cancels Kyiv visit over security concerns

Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier has canceled his visit to Kyiv initially scheduled for Thursday.

This was reported by Bild, according to Ukrinform.

The Office of the Federal President explained the schedule change with "security considerations."

It is noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and security authorities of Germany advised that the federal president not travel to Kyiv due to constant air strikes over the recent days. The decision to cancel the trip was made on Tuesday, the newspaper says.

The tabloid writes that the parties had been negotiating the visit for weeks.

The publication claims that the cancellation caused a stir in Kyiv. An unnamed Ukrainian government official told the newspaper: "While the federal president is canceling his visit, there are many foreign diplomats and guests willing to show their presence in the capital right now."

For almost two weeks, Russia has repeatedly attacked the Ukrainian capital, launching cruise missiles and Iranian-made kamikaze drones. Several explosions were heard in Kyiv on Wednesday. However, the Russian missiles were intercepted with the help of the German IRIS-T air defense system, the newspaper notes.

Steinmeier's cancellation has, according to the media, an effect of a "political explosion." It should be recalled that this spring, Steinmeier was unable to visit Kyiv due to the reluctance of the Ukrainian side to accept the president. The reason for such a stance was Steinmeier’s failed policy (as foreign minister in Merkel's government) towards Russia. This led to a certain cooling between Kyiv and Berlin, which lasted several months. Later, in the summer, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine finally invited his German counterpart to visit the Ukrainian capital.

Steinmeier publicly acknowledged his mistakes after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.