Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to meet Germany’s Scholz in Berlin on May 13

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to Berlin on May 13 at the invitation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and then on to Aachen the next day to receive the 2023 Charlemagne prize, police and media reports said on Wednesday.

According to a report by the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel, Zelenskyy will be received by Scholz with military honors before flying to Aachen in western Germany.

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“At the invitation of the Federal Chancellor, the President of Ukraine, Mr Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is expected to make an official visit to Berlin and Aachen from May 13 to 14,” the federal police said in a statement sent to Reuters.

A government spokesperson declined to confirm the visit, saying only that Scholz’s appointments were announced every Friday for the following week.

Germany rallied behind Ukraine after the Russian invasion in February last year, imposing sanctions on Moscow along with other Western partners and shipping aid and weapons to Kyiv.

Ukraine has pressed its allies for long-range weapons, jets and ammunition before a looming counteroffensive aimed at pushing back Russian invasion forces.

Germany and the United States in January announced plans to provide advanced battle tanks to Ukraine after weeks of diplomatic deadlock over the issue, though Berlin has so far declined Kyiv’s requests for advanced fighter jets.

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