Germany’s leader faced a grim new reality as his train pulled into Kyiv: air raid sirens and the boom of Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital.

During previous visits by international dignitaries of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s stature, the Kremlin paused or dramatically reduced attacks on the city. On Sunday, the sounds of war rang out repeatedly as the German delegation made its way around Kyiv, in what looks to be a new level of escalation by Moscow.

On Monday, Germany’s foreign intelligence chief warned his country was at risk of becoming embroiled in a “violent conflict with Russia,” as Moscow steps up its “shadow war” against European democracies.

Germany has been one of the most ardent supporters of Ukraine since the early days of the Russian invasion, supplying both military and financial aid. The country has also taken in more than a million Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.

Merz’s visit came as Russia has ramped up its around-the-clock strikes on Kyiv in recent weeks. The attacks and the air raid alerts that accompany them have severely disrupted life in the city, forcing millions to constantly seek shelter and paralyzing the capital’s businesses and transport networks.

Over the last four days, including on the day Merz was visiting, Russia has hit several of Kyiv’s key bridges, with some strikes coming in broad daylight and as traffic was flowing through them — in what appears to be a new tactic to disrupt links between the capital’s two sides separated by the Dnipro River to further disable movement around Ukraine’s largest city.

An air raid alert went off as Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the site of a drone attack on the National Academy of Sciences last week. The dramatic daytime strike on the national landmark saw people clinging to windows to escape flames and thick smoke billowing out of the structure.