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UKRAINE

Germany offers to aid Polish air patrols after rocket strike

Germany said Wednesday it could send its own warplanes to support patrols over Poland following a deadly rocket strike in a village close to the border with Ukraine.

Police cars in Przewodow
Police cars arrive in the Polish village of Przewodow, where an unexplained missile strike killed two people on Tuesday. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/AP | Evgeniy Maloletka

“As an immediate reaction to the incidents in Poland, we will offer to strengthen air policing with combat air patrols over its airspace with German Eurofighters,” defence ministry spokesman Christian Thiels said at a regular press conference.

“This can happen from tomorrow, if Poland so wishes,” Thiels said.

The sorties would be launched “from German airbases” without needing to relocate the jets to Poland, he said.

Such patrols take place in “specific airspaces”, which are “agreed exactly with the Polish side”, Thiels said.

German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht would seek to speak to her Polish counterpart on the matter today, he added.

Officials are racing to clarify the circumstances of the missile strike near the Polish village of Przewodow near the Ukrainian border, which occurred on Tuesday afternoon, killing two farm workers.

Ambassadors from members of the NATO military alliance went into emergency talks in Brussels after Poland put its military on high alert in the wake of the blast and summoned Russia’s ambassador.

“Based on the preliminary information available, the strikes are most likely a result of Ukrainian anti-aircraft systems that were engaged to take Russian missiles out of the sky,” Belgian Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder said in a statement.

US President Joe Biden had said it was “unlikely” the missile came from Russia, and the Kremlin said it had “nothing to do with” it.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier on Wednesday warned against any “hasty conclusions” about the incident.

Scholz stressed it was important to “make clear that this would not have happened without the Russian war against Ukraine”.

READ ALSO: Germany and Spain to train Ukraine troops under EU programme

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UKRAINE

German economy minister makes unexpected visit to Ukraine

German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck unexpectedly arrived in Kyiv on Thursday to discuss post-war reconstruction and show support after Russian attacks on key Ukrainian infrastructure.

German economy minister makes unexpected visit to Ukraine

“This visit comes at a time when Ukraine needs all the support it can get in its fight for freedom,” Habeck told reporters in the Ukrainian capital.

“And it is a fight for freedom, that’s the important thing that the world, Europe and Germany mustn’t forget,” he said, adding that Ukraine was “fighting for the values that define Europe”.

The trip comes after Germany at the weekend announced it was sending an additional Patriot air defence system to Ukraine after pleas from Kyiv for its Western backer to urgently help foil Russian attacks.

Ukraine has said it is running out of weaponry to shoot down Russian missiles and drones as Moscow ramps up attacks on energy infrastructure.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday urged fellow EU leaders to urgently follow Berlin’s lead and send more air defence systems to Ukraine.

Habeck, who was accompanied by a business delegation on the trip, will hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He will also meet with Ukrainian officials to discuss emergency aid and business ties as well as preparations for the annual Ukraine Recovery Conference to be held in Berlin in June, the German economy ministry said in a statement.

“Comprehensive support for Ukraine also includes support for a resilient energy supply and reconstruction. Private sector investment is crucial for this to succeed,” Habeck was quoted as saying in the statement.

The World Bank has estimated the total cost of reconstruction facing Ukraine more than two years since the start of the war is at least $486 billion.

OPINION: Germany’s timid strategy risks both Ukraine’s defeat and more war in Europe

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