Germen police open probe into leaked info about Zelensky visit

Berlin police say they have opened an investigation into leaked details of an upcoming state visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Germany.

In a report on Wednesday, local German tabloid newspaper Berliner Zeitung (BZ) said that the law enforcement in Berlin were readying for a state visit by Zelensky to Germany on May 13.

The report, citing unnamed Berlin police sources as confirming the visit, further said that the Ukrainian leader would visit the German capital at the invitation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, adding that Zelensky would then travel to the western city of Aachen the next day to receive the 2023 Charlemagne prize.

On Thursday, Berlin police president Barbara Slowik confirmed that a probe had been launched related to an article in BZ, saying that the report contained "confidential details" on the preparations for Zelensky's visit.

Investigators had launched a probe "into a suspected betrayal of secrets... in relation to a possible visit by a state president", she said. "At no time did the Berlin police officially provide any information that endangered the state visit."

"I find it unbearable that... a single employee is damaging the reputation of the Berlin police in such a shameful way nationally and internationally," Slowik said.

She also said that the suspected employee might not "aware of the consequences of their actions."

After the news of Zelensky's state visit was reported on Wednesday, officials in Kiev became frustrated "deeply disappointed" by the leaked details, according to a report by German news site T-Online.

Since February last year that Russian waged a war on Ukraine, Zelensky has not visited Germany.

Ukraine tends to keep the president's whereabouts as secret as possible and strongly avoids announcing his state visits beforehand. His arrival in the Netherlands on Thursday and Finland on Wednesday for meetings with his counterparts, for instance, came as a surprise to most. 

The danger of establishing Zelensky's location intensified on Wednesday, after a foiled drone attack, blamed on Kiev, targeted the Kremlin overnight, with Moscow condemning it as an assassination attempt against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky's arrival in Finland on Wednesday for a meeting with Nordic leaders, for instance, came as a surprise to most. 

Germany, along with the United States, has been one of the biggest suppliers of weapons for the ex-Soviet republic since the outset of the current war.

Russian officials have repeatedly warned Western countries against supplying weapons to Ukraine, saying it risks prolonging the already protracted war.

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Ukraine realistic about not joining NATO during war: Zelensky

Separately on Thursday, Zelensky said that his country was "realistic" that it would not be able to join NATO while still being in war with Russia.

"We are realistic, we know we will not be in NATO during the war," Zelensky said after meeting Dutch and Belgian Prime Ministers Mark Rutte and Alexander De Croo. "But we want a very clear message that we will be in NATO after the war," the Ukrainian president stressed.

One of the main reasons Russia began its "special military operation" in Ukraine was Kiev's vaulting ambitions to join the US-led NATO, which Moscow deems a redline.

Ukraine formally applied for NATO membership last year, following the outbreak of the war with Russia. So did Finland and Sweden — the former having joined the alliance last month.

Zelensky's state visits to Finland and the Netherlands on two consecutive days were aimed at drumming up support ahead of Ukraine's awaited counter-offensive against Russia.

"The most important thing is to deliver as quickly as possible what was promised to our soldiers. We hope that the Netherlands and our other partners will help as quickly as possible," he told reporters.

The Netherlands has so far given or pledged 1.2 billion euros in military assistance to Ukraine.

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