German President Steinmeier arrives in Ukraine

Cerstin Gammelin, press secretary to the President of Germany, reports on Twitter.

"Our solidarity is unbreakable, and it will remain so. Federal President Steinmeier has arrived in Ukraine," the message says.

"It was important to me, especially now in this phase of air attacks with drones, cruise missiles and rockets, to send a message of solidarity to the Ukrainians,"  Steinmeier said after his arrival, Deutsche Welle quoted.

He noted that Germany will support Ukraine economically, politically and militarily. He also noted the "courage, fortitude, and intransigence" of Ukrainians.

The publication Welt writes that German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Steinmeier wants to see with his own eyes the destruction caused by Russia's attack on Ukraine.

In addition, a meeting with Denys Shmyhal, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, was announced on the website of the President of Germany.

This is the third attempt by a German president to come to Ukraine since the beginning of the war. Earlier, his visit was planned for last Thursday, but it had to be postponed due to security reasons. A few days before that, Russia launched a massive shelling of the entire territory of Ukraine.

• On April 12, it became known that German President Steinmeier planned to visit Kyiv for the first time during the full-scale war, but received a refusal. The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany said that instead of Steinmeier in Ukraine, Scholz is expected. 

• On April 13, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he had not received any official request from Steinmeier regarding a visit to Ukraine. 

• On May 5, it became known that Steinmeier had declared his readiness to hold negotiations with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. On the same day, he received an invitation from the President of Ukraine to visit Kyiv. 

• On October 19, Steinmeier canceled his planned visit to Ukraine for security reasons.