Overview

• Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul traveled secretly from Kyiv to Odessa in a small five-hour convoy due to Russian missile and drone threats.
• He and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrij Sybiha inspected fragments of rockets fired from Crimea at the city’s port facilities.
• The covert nature of the trip underscored the vulnerability of Ukraine’s third-largest city, which hosts key oil refineries, chemical plants and transport infrastructure.
• Wadephul pledged to press Germany and allied partners for faster delivery of additional air defense systems to protect southern Ukraine.
• The mission follows previous high-level German visits and reinforces ongoing support to secure Black Sea supply routes under persistent security risks.