Media reports suggest that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Austria on 16 June. Although the visit has not yet been officially confirmed, the news has sparked outrage from the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ).

Source: Austrian media outlet Heute; Austrian newspapers Kronen Zeitung and Der Standard, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Media reports indicate that meetings are planned between Zelenskyy and Austrian leaders, including Chancellor Christian Stocker and Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen.

Other details of the visit remain unknown and the Austrian government has declined to comment.

Despite the lack of official confirmation, Herbert Kickl, the leader of the Austrian Freedom Party, has publicly criticised the visit as a "foreign policy blunder" that, in his view, "makes Austria a potential target in the event of escalation".

"This visit is yet another link in the chain of violations of neutrality and misleading neutrality policy in recent years," Kickl claimed. "As a neutral state, Austria should be a peacemaker and mediator, not a party to war." 

Background:

• This would be Zelenskyy’s first visit to Austria since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In March 2023, the Ukrainian president addressed the Austrian parliament via video link.
• In March 2025, Zelenskyy met Austria’s new Chancellor Christian Stocker in Brussels.

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