Russian drone tails German foreign minister's convoy during Ukraine visit prompts abrupt exit
On Monday, representatives of the German Foreign Office and the Ministry of National Defense confirmed that during Baerbock's visit to Mykolaiv, the capital of the Mykolaiv Oblast, a Russian reconnaissance drone tracked her convoy for a period.
5:52 PM EST, February 26, 2024
German Minister Tracked by Russian Drone
German media initially circulated this news. Nadia Aswad, a correspondent for "Bild," reported that the convoy carrying the head of the Foreign Office was en route to the Black Sea to tour a local water desalination station.
The location is about 31 miles away from the front line. At the war's inception, the Russian Armed Forces decimated the water supply in Mykolaiv, leaving the city on the brink of a drinking water shortage.
"As the convoy headed towards the station, a Russian reconnaissance drone approached. Typically, its presence is followed by an air strike. Ukrainian delegation members received phone alerts, prompting the driver to evade the drone," "Bild" recounts.
Once the immediate threat had passed, it was decided to cut Baerbock's visit to Ukraine short. She was "quickly transported in armored vehicles across the border into Moldova," as reported by Ukrainian journalist Andriy Tsaplienko.
"For the sirens to cease, for mothers and fathers to return from the frontline"
"Putin's Russia has been at war with Ukraine for two years. There isn't a single person in Ukraine who doesn't yearn for the conflict to end, for the sirens to fall silent, for mothers and fathers to come home from the front line. For children to safely play in their playgrounds again," Baerbock wrote in a text marking the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Minister emphasized that "any claim that the supply of arms prolongs the war assists Putin. It is a falsehood to suggest that the West is preventing Ukraine from engaging in negotiations".
