Germany Foreign Minister Baerbock visits Poland; decries Putin's redrawing of Ukraine map

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on October 3 that Europe firmly stands against what she described as Russia’s "war of aggression" and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unilateral attempts to illegally shift borders and redraw Ukraine's map. During her visit to Warsaw on German Unity Day celebrated on October 3, Baerbock expressed solidarity and joint support for Ukraine alongside the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Zbigniew Rau. "The priority [of talks] is how Germany and Poland can continue supporting Ukraine as effectively as possible," Baerbock said in a statement released ahead of the visit. 

Putin 'waging a brutal war of aggression': Baerbock

The German minister slammed Russia's assault on Ukrainian soil, saying that Poland’s immediate neighbour, Putin "has been waging a brutal war of aggression for months now." She hailed Poland for a boycott of Moscow and strong support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "We are standing up together as Europeans against Russia’s war of aggression and Putin’s attempts to illegally shift borders," the German Foreign Minister said. 

"In Warsaw, I plan to talk to my Polish counterpart about how we can together increase our assistance to Ukraine even further. We know that Europe is strong today because it is keeping its unity," said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. 

The German minister will also attend the Warsaw Security Forum – a high-level meeting focussing on the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine in terms of security policy and geopolitics. The forum will be presided over by several top policymakers in the field of security and conflict experts. Warsaw Security Forum is organised by the Casimir Pulaski Foundation since 2020 in partnership with the German Marshall Fund of the United States. 

Earlier, amid criticism from Ukraine for not supplying enough defence equipment due to its historic Nazi past, Germany had announced that it would export four more Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzers with ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces to counter Russia's aggression. Berlin's Defence Ministry's press service published a handout, stating that jointly with the Netherlands, the number of these howitzers provided to Kyiv will reach 22. Of the total, 14 of these Panzerhaubitze will have been transferred by Germany. Despite the difficult material position, Bundeswehr will support Ukraine by providing four more PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers with ammunition," the message posted by Germany's Defence Ministry read.