German defense minister Boris Pistorius (AP)
Two top lawmakers from Germany’s ruling coalition made a surprise visit to Ukraine.Jens Spahn, the leader of the conservative CDU/CSU in the Bundestag, and Matthias Miersch, the Bundestag leader of the center-left Social Democrats, met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and held talks in the Ukrainian capital.The two sought to discuss further German support and diplomatic efforts to end the Russian invasion. German parliamentary support is necessary for the country’s policy in Ukraine, as parliament approves funding and would have a final say on any deployment of troops in the event of a ceasefire. Spahn and Miersch’s visit comes as Germany’s governing coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD seeks to project unity and reinforce its commitment to Ukraine’s defense.”We are grateful to Germany for its leadership in supporting our people, especially for the Patriot systems and missiles, and IRIS-T systems – all of which are saving the lives of our people. We also spoke about further bolstering the protection of our skies,” Zelenskyy said of the meeting.The lawmakers visited the site of last week’s large-scale Russian airstrikes involving drones and missiles, assessing the damage for themselves. Spahn and Miersch also visited the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, which was the site of a brutal massacre of civilians by Russian forces, which Moscow denies took place.
