Odessa, Ukraine is reeling from strikes, German Minister visit

The port city of Odessa was hit by Russian missile attacks on Tuesday, as Germany’s top ambassador visited Ukraine for the first time since Moscow’s invasion.

The surprise visit by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to Bucha, a village south of Kyiv where Russian troops are accused of war crimes, came amid growing criticism of Berlin’s tardy response to the conflict.

New battles erupted in Ukraine’s east and south, with officials reporting that over 1,000 Ukrainian fighters, including hundreds of injured, are holed up in the besieged Azovstal factory in Mariupol’s destroyed city.

Just hours after European Council President Charles Michel visited Odessa, a series of missile strikes devastated buildings, set a shopping mall on fire, and killed one person.

Michel had previously warned that significant supplies of wheat and grain from Ukraine, one of the world’s most important producers, were blocked in Odessa due to the violence.

“This badly-needed food is stranded because of the Russian war and blockade of Black Sea ports causing dramatic consequences for vulnerable countries. We need a global response,” he added.

In recent weeks, a slew of Western politicians have visited Ukraine, but Germany has been conspicuously absent due to tensions between Kyiv and Berlin over the level of German support.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has come under fire, in particular for insufficient armament deliveries to Ukraine and Germany’s refusal to abandon its reliance on Russian energy imports.

However, Baerbock’s visit was meant to send a strong message, with the foreign minister addressing people in Bucha, one of numerous towns and villages near Kyiv where Moscow’s army is accused of killing civilians.

In a tweet, the German was accompanied by her Dutch colleague, Wopke Hoekstra, who paid a visit to the damaged commuter town of Irpin.

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