German Foreign Minister Wadephul arrives in Kyiv. PHOTO

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul arrived on his first visit to Ukraine on the morning of 30 June.

"Putin seeks to prevent Ukraine from determining its own destiny by force. His war is aimed at nothing less than the conquest of Ukraine. He is attacking Ukrainians with the brutal terror of bombing. Every day and every night people are dying in their own homes - in Kyiv, in Odesa, in Dnipro. But despite all the destruction and all the terror, Ukrainians are defending their country, their freedom and their future with determination every day. They demonstrate incredible courage, strength and endurance. This deserves our highest respect," Wadephul said.

The Minister promised further support for Ukraine.

"Our support for Ukraine's freedom is a testament to our steadfastness as Europeans. Russia is hoping that we will weaken our assistance. (...) We will continue to stand firmly by Ukraine's side so that it can successfully defend itself - with modern air defence and other weapons, humanitarian and economic assistance. I have come to Kyiv today with this commitment," the German Foreign Minister said.

According to Wadephul, it is in Ukraine that "it is now being decided whether our Europe will remain a place where freedom and human dignity are valued, or whether it will become a continent where violence changes borders".

"Ukrainian men and women are defending not only the freedom and sovereignty of their country, but also the security and freedom of Europe from Putin's aggression. That is why we will continue to focus all our efforts on supporting Ukraine. The freedom and future of Ukraine is the most important task of our foreign and security policy," he assured.

The Minister expressed his belief in the seriousness of Ukraine's intentions to end the war and recalled the importance of sanctions against Russia.

"Ukraine has repeatedly proved that it is ready to end this war through serious negotiations. Instead, Putin does not back down from any of his maximalist demands - he does not want negotiations, he wants surrender. And as long as this is the case, we will continue to limit Putin's ability to finance this criminal war through sanctions. We are working intensively on this within the European Union and with our G7 partners," he said.

Wadephul also noted that Putin's current actions "should be a serious warning for us in Germany".

"The ideology of imperialism that drives Putin is the greatest threat to our security in Germany and Europe. The determination of NATO partners to invest 5 per cent in defence and security in the future clearly shows that we as allies are ready to constantly defend our freedom and security," the minister said.