On Wednesday, April 30, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha welcomed to Kyiv the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign and Affairs and Foreign Trade of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, who was on his first visit to Kyiv in this capacity, as well as the Minister of Defence of Luxembourg, Yuriko Backes.

At the beginning of the visit, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry personally greeted the guests at Kyiv Central Railway Station as a sign of respect.

The ministers visited the National Specialized Children's Hospital "Okhmatdyt" of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, damaged during a barbaric Russian strike last year. They spoke with doctors and hospital management, who shared stories of the heroism shown by Ukrainians during these tragic events and the subsequent recovery of the institution.

The delegation also visited a drone manufacturing facility, where they were briefed on advanced Ukrainian technologies and the capabilities of UAV production.

During negotiations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the parties discussed strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities, pressure on the aggressor, and investments in Ukrainian arms production.

Andrii Sybiha expressed gratitude to Luxembourg and both ministers for the decision to allocate €10 million to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund and additional €10 million to support the defense sector, announced during this visit.

"The funds from the energy fund will be directed to critical needs, from the purchase of equipment and fuel to the modernization of energy infrastructure," the Minister noted.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that Luxembourg's military support for Ukraine exceeded €250 million and emphasized that Kyiv highly appreciated the participation of Luxembourg in four defense coalitions, including the IT coalition, where Luxembourg is a co-leader.

The parties also paid special attention to the reconstruction of Ukraine. Andriy Sybiha noted that Luxembourg, through its LuxDev agency, is already implementing 40 reconstruction projects in Kryvyi Rih.

"This is an important contribution, especially in light of the recent Russian strikes. I suggested considering the possibility of extending these programmes to other regions, including Kharkiv. We also appreciate the continued support for humanitarian mine clearance projects," the Minister stressed.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister expressed his deep gratitude to the people of Luxembourg for their unwavering support of Ukraine since the first days of Russian full-scale aggression.

A special feature of the visit was the presentation at the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs of archival diplomatic documents from the period of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and independent Ukraine, kindly provided by the State Archives of Ukraine.

In presenting the exhibition to their Luxembourg counterparts, Andrii Sybiha suggested that these documents could be seen as evidence of the close diplomatic and interpersonal ties between Ukraine and Luxembourg.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine would like to express its gratitude for the search and preparation of materials for the presentation to the Head of the State Archival Service, Anatolii Khoromov, and the Director of the Central State Archives of High Authorities and Government, Larysa Levchenko.