German Foreign minister Annalena Baerbock travelled to Kyiv on Tuesday (10 May) as the first minister of Scholz’s cabinet, where she demanded that the “war crimes and the crimes against humanity” be investigated.
Baerbock visited Bucha alongside the Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Wenediktova to see first-hand the atrocities reportedly committed by Russian troops in the Kyiv suburb.
“I am here today with the prosecutor general who is jointly investigating these crimes for her country, collecting evidence,” Baerbock told journalists.
She pledged support from Germany and the international community to investigate crimes against humanity, as it would be important to “gather evidence to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable.”
“We owe it to these victims that we not only commemorate them here but that we bring the perpetrators to justice and hold them accountable. And that is what we will do as an international community,” Baerbock said. “That is the promise we can and must make here in Bucha,” she added.
So far, no other member of the German government has travelled to Ukraine. However, the opposition leader of the conservative CDU, Friedrich Merz, made an appearance in Kyiv last week, followed by a state visit of the Social Democrat President of the Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, who travelled on Sunday to commemorate the victims of the Second World War.
For Baerbock, it is already her second visit as she had already travelled there before the onset of the Russian war of aggression in early February.
Later today, Baerbock will also meet with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitro Kuleba, where she will likely discuss German support for Ukraine, arms deliveries, and the question of EU accession.
Germany is so far considered to be hesitant when it comes to a fast-tracked accession of Ukraine. However, Bas already called for the procedure to be speeded up “so that a perspective can be given”.
“This is very, very important for Ukraine: that they get a roadmap, a timetable,” Bärbel told public broadcaster ZDF on Monday, following her Ukraine visit.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far refrained from travelling to Ukraine himself. After Ukrainian authorities said in April that the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was not welcome due to his alleged ties to the Kremlin, Scholz stated that the disinvitation of Steinmeier would stand in the way of his own visit.
However, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy reconciled with Steinmeier in a phone call last week and officially invited him and Scholz to Ukraine. However, Scholz is yet to react to the invitation.
The German public is meanwhile divided on the issue. According to a poll by Spiegel, 49% of Germans say that Scholz should visit Ukraine in an act of solidarity. However, there is a clear East-West divide regarding public support of his visit, as only 35 % in former Eastern Germany would support such a move.
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
Source: euractiv.com
