Kyiv Mayor Klitschko urges Berlin to do extra to assist wounded Ukrainians – POLITICO

BERLIN — Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko is searching for assurances from his counterpart in Berlin that Ukraine will have the ability to ship critically injured troopers to Germany’s capital secure within the information that their medical prices will likely be met.

In a letter to new Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner seen by POLITICO, Klitschko famous that some 250-500 Ukrainian troops will want remedy every month for misplaced limbs. “At the very least a few of these sufferers may definitely be cared for in your metropolis in view of the particular experience of the clinics in Berlin — however at current it would sadly not be doable to reimburse the prices in your metropolis,” he wrote in his two-page letter.

Germany had pledged that injured Ukrainian civilians and troopers have unbureaucratic and quick entry to high-quality medical care after their arrival in Germany with out having to bear any prices themselves, however personal teams should take over the group and financing of pressing medical care in some areas, with Berlin amongst them. This results in confusion about cost, Klitschko famous.

“It isn’t all the time sure for us that Germany will cowl the remedy prices for our troopers who come to Germany for remedy of the results of complicated warfare accidents,” the previous heavyweight boxing champion wrote. “We’d like … a realistic and safe clarification of the financing by Berlin and Germany.”

Extra broadly, Klitschko thanked Wegner, who solely took over as mayor 13 days agofor Berlin’s help throughout Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and harassed the significance of its hospitals in treating Ukrainian civilians and troopers. He talked about the Bundeswehr Hospital, which has supplied medical remedy to greater than 60 Ukrainian troopers since 2014.

Klitschko additionally mentioned he would welcome steps towards twinning Kyiv with Berlin. A symbolic step, as Berlin’s twinning with Moscow — a partnership that has existed since 1991 — is currently suspended due to the warfare.

Wegner, from the center-right Christian Democrats, may play a key position in securing funding as Berlin’s regional authorities is the competent supreme state authority for the implementation of the related Social Code — and will a minimum of remedy the difficulty on quick discover within the metropolis state. Klitschko additionally requested him to “work towards separate financing of momentary medical look after troopers/officers of the Ukrainian state on the federal degree.”

When it got here to the symbolic query of twinning cities, the letter provided a heat response to the coalition agreement from Berlin’s new regional authorities, which envisaged a partnership with the Ukrainian capital. Klitschko wrote Kyiv would “very a lot welcome an intensification of the pleasant relations between the 2 capitals in direction of a city twinning.”

He ended his letter by inviting Wegner to Kyiv for talks, together with on the subjects of tradition and reconstruction, and said he can be very happy if Kyiv and Berlin may use navy hospitals for instance to “develop the longer term partnership and current it to the surface world.”