German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has arrived in Kiev on his first visit to Ukraine’s capital since taking office last month.
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.
Germany is one of Ukraine’s key suppliers of military equipment, weapons and financial aid as the country continues to fend off a full-scale Russian invasion, now in its fourth year.
Wadephul is scheduled to hold talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister 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 also planned, according to the German Foreign Office.
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.