A year after Russia's attack on Ukraine, the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Lars Klingbeil, and the leader of the SPD faction, Rolf Mützenich, arrived in Kyiv for their first visit.
This is reported by Tagesschau.
They arrived in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, early in the morning by a special train, to later hold negotiations with representatives of the Ukrainian government and parliament.
For security reasons, the exact program of the visit was not published.
Several high-ranking SPD politicians have visited Ukraine since the invasion - most notably Chancellor Olaf Scholz in June 2022. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius visited Ukraine only a few days after taking office.
SPD is in a difficult position in Ukraine because of its policy towards Russia before the invasion. She has been accused of underestimating Russian President Vladimir Putin for decades and relying too much on cooperation with Russia.
However, both Klingbeil and Mützenich have already openly admitted their mistakes. In December, SPD wants to revise its foreign policy, and therefore its attitude towards Russia, at the party conference.
At the same time, both Klingbeil and Mützenich insist on a greater role for diplomacy in trying to end the war.
"We must persistently try to settle the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through diplomacy," Mützenich said at the end of January.
"Sometimes I get dizzy when I see that the discussions are only about weapons. I am shocked to see how today the concept of diplomacy is almost despised," Klingbeil said in mid-January.
