Steinmeier hides in shelter in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region, spontaneously communicates with local residents

This was reported by the German Spiegel news outlet.

After Steinmeier's arrival, an air raid alert was announced in Koriukivka. The siren went off as Steinmeier spoke to the media.

The German president had to "have a spontaneous conversation" with the civilian population in the bomb shelter, the publication says.

Later on Tuesday, Steinmeier is to return to Kyiv and meet, in particular, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

It is currently unclear how the air raid alert will affect his plans.

• Steinmeier unexpectedly arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday morning. The President of Germany arrived by the morning train of Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways), which originally greeted him with postcards and a bouquet of irises (in gratitude for the air defense system IRIS-T).

• He intended to meet with Zelenskyy in Kyiv last Thursday. However, he postponed the trip because German authorities had security concerns.

• Last year, Steinmeier also visited Koriukivka, where in March 1943, the Nazis killed all the inhabitants, and the town itself was burned down.