Denys Shmyhal, who was received with military honors by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Sunday, is the most senior Ukrainian official to visit the German capital in months after Kyiv accused the EU’s biggest economy of doing too little. Starting his trip in Berlin, Shmyhal met the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who was unable to visit Kyiv in April because of his past support for strong German-Russian ties. Steinmeier, a former German foreign minister who admitted in April that his approach to Moscow was wrong, offered to travel to the Ukrainian capital in the early weeks of the war to show solidarity, but was told his visit “was not wanted in Kyiv”. In a tweet after the meeting with Steinmeier, Shmyhal said they discussed the military situation, strengthening sanctions and the need to provide arms for Ukraine. “Thank you for your solidarity with Ukrainians and support,” the tweet said. Germany “will continue to stand reliably by Ukraine’s side,” Steinmeier told Shmyhal, according to the German president’s spokesman. “Germany has made enormous progress in supporting Ukraine with weapons,” Schmihal told German media before his trip, according to AFP. But the prime minister added that Kyiv needs more from Berlin, including “modern battle tanks” such as the Leopard 2. Writing on Telegram, Shmyhal urged allies to provide Ukraine with more heavy weapons. “The MARS II multiple rocket launchers and Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery units, which Germany has provided, are performing well on the battlefield,” he said, adding that he expects Germany to become one of the leaders in supporting Ukraine’s air defense . The rapprochement between Kiev and Berlin came as Scholz said Germany “will get through this winter” as his government announced a 65 billion euro package on Sunday to help households and companies cope with rising energy prices. Scholz told local media that Germany would use windfall tax revenue to lower end-consumer prices for natural gas, coal and oil. Europe is facing an energy crisis after Russia shut down natural gas flows from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Germany. Gazprom said on Friday that the pipeline – the largest natural gas pipeline to Europe with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year – would be shut down indefinitely due to a leak and would not restart until repairs were completed. Siemens Energy, which supplies and maintains equipment on Nord Stream 1, said the leak could be sealed and there was no reason to shut down the entire pipeline. In his late-night video address on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Moscow of arming its energy reserves against European countries it cannot yet attack with missiles. “Russia wants to destroy the normal life of every European – in all the countries of our continent,” Zelensky said. “It is trying to attack with poverty and political chaos where it cannot yet attack with missiles.” The answer to this “decisive energy attack” was the unity of European states and sanctions to limit Russia’s oil and gas revenues, he said. As the war entered its 193rd day, Ukrainian officials said an eight-year-old child was killed and three other children were injured by overnight Russian shelling in the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv. Russian forces hit multiple residential targets in the area, according to Vitaly Kim, governor of Mykolayiv. Posting on his Telegram account, he said Russian shelling had destroyed houses, three hospitals, two educational facilities, a hotel and a museum in the area. Zelensky urged the EU to deliver the promised 9 billion euro emergency financial aid package “as soon as possible,” he said in a tweet on Sunday about a phone call he had with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. So far, the EU has released only €1 billion of the total due to disagreements over the balance between grants and loans. The head of the European Council, Charles Michel, said last week that he was confident the EU would soon fulfill its promise, although Ukraine needs about 5 billion euros a month to continue. Ukraine’s prime minister said he expects 5 billion euros in macroeconomic aid from the EU this week, which “will help ensure the stability of our economy, support the military and pass the heating season.” Concerns remained high over Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which relies on a backup line to supply electricity to the grid. In a statement on Saturday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the station again lost connection to the last remaining main external power line, but continued to supply electricity to the grid through a backup line. The plant was seized by Russian forces in March, but remains connected to Ukraine’s electricity grid and is run by Ukrainian personnel. Following growing concern over the nuclear disaster, IAEA inspectors arrived at the plant last Thursday with the aim of establishing a permanent presence. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday that his country could play a facilitating role regarding the plant, Erdogan’s office said.
