Zelenskyy visits Berlin as he seeks more support for Ukraine

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will visit Berlin to meet with new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz

BySTEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press

BERLIN — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Wednesday as Ukraine seeks further military support amid a recent escalation in Russia’s bombing campaign, despite U.S.-led efforts to end the war.

Germany has been the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States. Merz said on Monday that Germany and other major allies are no longer imposing any range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine as it fights to repel Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.

Merz has plunged into diplomatic efforts to try to secure a ceasefire and keep Western support for Ukraine intact since becoming Germany’s leader three weeks ago.

Meanwhile, fighting has continued along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, and both sides have conducted deep strikes. Russia launched its biggest drone attack of the war against Ukraine on Sunday.

Russian air defenses downed 296 Ukrainian drones over 13 Russian regions late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that air defenses shot down 33 drones heading toward the capital.

Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, said that 42 drones were downed. He said that drone fragments damaged three residential buildings in the village of Troitskoye, but no one was hurt.

Moscow airports delayed or diverted hundreds of flights.

Overnight, Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine using five Iskander ballistic missiles, one guided air-launched missile and 88 drones, Ukraine’s Air Force said Wednesday. Air defense units shot down 34 drones, and 37 drones were jammed.

Ukraine’s railway infrastructure and equipment in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Sumy regions also came under fire overnight and Wednesday morning, Ukraine’s state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia said. No casualties were reported.

In Kharkiv region, railway traffic was temporarily suspended so that police and emergency workers could clear debris from a downed drone that landed on the tracks. In Sloviansk in the Donetsk region, the attack shattered windows at the station building, and drone debris slightly damaged a train car.

___

Hanna Arhirova contributed to this report from Kyiv, Ukraine.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Sponsored Content by Taboola

Read More

  • Related Posts

    India’s Modi visits Sri Lanka to shore up defence and energy ties

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Sri Lanka to expand defence and energy ties as Colombo balances relations with its powerful neighbour and biggest lender, China. Sri Lankan President…

    Ukraine’s Zelenskyy calls for united US-Europe support against Russia

    Ukraine’s president meets leaders at Munich Security Conference amid a push to end Russia-Ukraine war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the United States and Europe to band together…

    You Missed

    Tories warn Nigel Farage’s plans for £140bn of ‘giveaways’ are ‘not serious’ and would bankrupt Britain as panic mounts over Reform poll surge

    Tories warn Nigel Farage’s plans for £140bn of ‘giveaways’ are ‘not serious’ and would bankrupt Britain as panic mounts over Reform poll surge

    Emotional moment Virginia Giuffre’s lawyer breaks down as she recalls her disbelief after the Jeffrey Epstein victim took her own life

    Emotional moment Virginia Giuffre’s lawyer breaks down as she recalls her disbelief after the Jeffrey Epstein victim took her own life

    New gold rush is on the horizon as experts say deserted mine is still FILLED with extremely valuable minerals

    New gold rush is on the horizon as experts say deserted mine is still FILLED with extremely valuable minerals

    Putin savages Ukraine with drone attack hours after announcing Istanbul ‘peace talks’ that Trump called a ‘potentially great day’

    Putin savages Ukraine with drone attack hours after announcing Istanbul ‘peace talks’ that Trump called a ‘potentially great day’

    Locals in deprived seaside town say ‘snobby’ neighbours in £800k homes look down at them… despite living just seven miles up the road

    Locals in deprived seaside town say ‘snobby’ neighbours in £800k homes look down at them… despite living just seven miles up the road

    Counter-terror police probe ‘suspicious’ late-night fire at Sir Keir Starmer’s £2million north London home: Neighbours tell of hearing ‘loud bang’

    Counter-terror police probe ‘suspicious’ late-night fire at Sir Keir Starmer’s £2million north London home: Neighbours tell of hearing ‘loud bang’