Ukraine's Zelenskyy thanks Germany for support on visit to Berlin

German government announces its biggest military aid package to Kyiv since Russia's invasion

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, welcomes Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Chancellery in Berlin on Sunday. Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday thanked Germany for its support as he met President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on his first visit to the country since Russia's invasion.

Mr Zelenskyy arrived in Berlin from Rome, where on Saturday he met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and then Pope Francis.

The Pope indicated the Vatican would help in the repatriation of Ukrainian children taken by Russians.

Ukraine's President flew on a German government plane escorted over German airspace by fighter jets of the Luftwaffe air force, arriving in the middle of the night.

"In the most challenging time in the modern history of Ukraine, Germany is proud to be our true friend and reliable ally," Mr Zelenskyy wrote in the guest book of the German presidency. "Together we will win and bring peace back to Europe."

Mr Zelenskyy also met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his security cabinet, before he was scheduled to head to Aachen in the west of the country to receive the prestigious Charlemagne prize in honour of services to Europe.

Germany, Europe's largest economy, was heavily criticised at the start of the war for what some called a hesitant response but it has since become one of Ukraine's biggest providers of financial and military assistance.

The government announced €2.7 billion ($3 billion) of military aid to Ukraine on Saturday, its biggest such package since Russia's invasion in February last year, and pledged further support for Kyiv for as long as required.

"We all hope for a rapid end to this terrible war by Russia against the Ukrainian people but unfortunately this is not in sight," Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said in a statement.

"This is why Germany will supply all the help that it can, for as long as necessary," he said.

Mr Zelenskyy hailed the "powerful package" in a tweet, indicating that he aimed to discuss weapons supply as well as air defence, reconstruction, Ukraine's candidacy for membership of the European Union and security with German officials.

Mr Zelenskyy last visited Germany for the Munich Security Council in February last year shortly before the war broke out.

Germany was constrained in its support for Ukraine at that time, both by its energy dependence on Russia and a pacifism rooted in its bloody 20th-century history.

This led to a major policy upheaval and a shift in mindset that Mr Scholz called a "Zeitenwende", or turning point, in a speech days after the invasion.