German foreign minister tours site of Russian attacks on Kiev visit

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Monday toured the site of a major Russian strike in Kiev as he pledged further military aid for Ukraine on his first visit to the Ukrainian capital since taking office last month.

"The freedom and future of Ukraine is the most important task of our foreign and security policy," Wadephul said.

He added that Germany will "stand firmly by Ukraine's side so that it can continue to defend itself successfully - with modern air defence and other weapons, with humanitarian and economic aid."

The trip was kept under wraps for security reasons until his arrival on Monday morning, with Wadephul travelling to Kiev by train alongside representatives from the German arms industry.

The German foreign minister toured a mobile air defence unit before visiting the site of a major Russian attack in mid-June which left 23 people killed, including children, and 134 injured.

The strike on a residential building in the Solomyanska district, which also housed an employee of the German embassy, was one of the worst attacks on Kiev of the entire war, and comes amid a renewed intensive Russian bombardment of the Ukrainian capital in recent weeks.

Wadephul is also scheduled to hold talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha and pay tribute to the victims of the 1941 Babyn Yar massacre, where Nazi occupation forces murdered more than 33,000 Jewish men, women and children in a ravine on the outskirts of the city.

High-level discussions between German business leaders and Ukrainian officials are planned during the visit, according to the German Foreign Office.

Germany is one of Ukraine's key suppliers of military equipment, weapons and financial aid.

"Ukraine will determine whether Europe remains a place where freedom and human dignity prevail - or becomes a continent where violence redraws borders," Wadephul stated.

He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not seeking peace, but rather conquest and subjugation at any cost.

"That is why we remain fully committed to supporting Ukraine," he said, adding that this unwavering stance demonstrates "our resolve as Europeans."

The German foreign minister criticized Putin for refusing to engage in genuine diplomacy, stating that while Ukraine has consistently demonstrated its willingness to pursue serious negotiations to end the war, the Russian president remains unwavering in his rigid demands.

Wadephul previously visited Ukraine on May 9, days after assuming office, when he took part in an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in the western city of Lviv.