The chancellor is not currently planning a visit to Kyiv.
(Photo: dpa)
Kyiv, Berlin Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to continue to support Ukraine militarily and economically in its defensive struggle against Russia, but he is currently refusing to visit Kyiv. The goal of his policy is: “Russia must not win and Ukraine must not lose,” said the SPD politician on Monday evening in the ZDF program “What Now?”. The fact that the government in Kyiv had uninvited Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in mid-April was unacceptable.
Another Ukraine supporter, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, plans to address the Ukrainian parliament in Kyiv via video on Tuesday. According to the previously distributed speech manuscript, he is likely to pledge further military aid worth 300 million pounds (357 million euros).
Britain also wants to send special vehicles for the safe transport of civilians. Johnson met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv a few weeks ago.
Federal government remains upset because of Steinmeier’s uninvitation
According to its own statements, the federal government delivered weapons and other armaments worth at least 191.9 million euros to Ukraine in the first eight weeks of the war. Scholz emphasized that the help from Germany and other countries had helped “that the Ukrainian army, which is really acting very successfully, can now hold out for so long against such an overpowering opponent”.
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However, it cannot work that you say to a country that provides so much military and financial aid and is needed when it comes to security guarantees for the future: “But the President must not come,” said Scholz with regard to the Unloading of Steinmeier.
The Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk criticized Scholz’s provisional no to a trip to Kyiv and told the German Press Agency: “Playing an insulted liver sausage doesn’t sound very statesmanlike.”
Steinmeier has been criticized for his previous Russia policy as foreign and chancellor minister in Ukraine. A trip to Kyiv with the Presidents of Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania did not come about.
Steinmeier has been criticized for his previous Russia policy as foreign and chancellor minister in Ukraine.
(Photo: Reuters)
Since the war began a good two months ago, several EU heads of state and government have traveled to the Ukrainian capital to show solidarity with the country attacked by Russia. Left-wing politician Gregor Gysi is scheduled to start a trip lasting several days on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and CDU leader Friedrich Merz are also planning visits.
Pentagon: Russia’s troops are making minimal progress in eastern Ukraine
Russian troops shelled the city of Kharkiv, the Donetsk region in the east and other regions on Monday. In Odessa, a 14-year-old boy was killed by a rocket hit on a residential building, President Zelenskiy said. The information cannot be independently verified.
>> Read here: Scholz does not want to travel to Kyiv because of Steinmeier’s unloading – “That stands in the way of things”
Regarding the situation in the fighting on the ground in eastern Ukraine, the US Department of Defense said the Russian military was making only minimal progress. “Troops still suffer from poor leadership and control, morale in many units is low, logistics are suboptimal,” a Pentagon official said. For example, the Ukrainian military was able to push the Russians back further from Kharkiv.
Dismay at Lavrov’s Nazi comparison
An anti-Semitic statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov continues to cause international outrage. Zelensky said in a reversal of perpetrators and victims, Russia’s chief diplomat blamed the Jewish people for Nazi crimes. “Such an anti-Semitic attack by their minister means that the Russian leadership has forgotten, or perhaps never learned, all the lessons of World War II. “Zelensky is of Jewish descent.
Israel demands Lavrov apologize for comparison with Hitler
Lavrov repeated Russian war propaganda on Italian television on Sunday that Ukraine was being run by Nazis. He also went so far as to claim that Adolf Hitler also had Jewish blood. In general, many anti-Semites are Jews. Lavrov’s statement caused outrage in Israel and many other countries. The US State Department spoke of disgusting comments.
More Handelsblatt articles on the war in Ukraine
Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi criticized the TV program in which Lavrov was able to speak for 40 minutes without being critically questioned. “It wasn’t a brilliant achievement.”
Draghi justified arms sales to Ukraine. Nobody wants the situation to get worse, he said in Rome. But one should not abandon Ukraine. “I’ve said it several times: We will only achieve peace if Ukraine can defend itself.”
That’s going to be important today
In the city of Mariupol, which has been contested for weeks, the city council announced another attempt on Tuesday to evacuate civilians from the last Ukrainian base in the Azovstal steel plant.
The rescue failed on Monday. “Today the Russian occupiers didn’t give us a chance to get people out of Azovstal,” Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Ukrainian television on Monday.
Previously, there had been reports of heavy bombardment and shelling of the factory premises from ship cannons and artillery. Over the weekend, more than 120 civilians escaped from the besieged factory premises. According to Ukrainian information, about 200 are still staying there together with Ukrainian soldiers.
More: You can follow the latest developments in our news blog