German business deeply shocked by Russian attack on Ukraine | News from Germany about Germany

The Eastern Committee of the German Economy (Ost-Ausschuss der Deutschen Wirtschaft) is “deeply shocked” by Russia’s attack on Ukraine. This is stated in a statement by Committee Chairman Oliver Hermes, received by DW on Thursday, February 24th.

“This is an unjustified attack on a sovereign state, its citizens, as well as on the world in Europe and the world as a whole. This is a black day for Europe,” Hermes said. “We strongly urge the President (of the Russian Federation Vladimir. – Ed) Putin immediately cease hostilities and return to the negotiating table. There will be only losers in this war,” he added.

Solidarity with the people of Ukraine

The Eastern Committee expressed solidarity with the people of Ukraine, as well as with several thousand employees of German companies in this country. Business representatives believe that everything possible must be done to save human lives. “We support all decisions and measures taken by the federal government and the international community to end this war as soon as possible,” Oliver Hermes stressed.

He recalled that the committee had been working on building economic relations with Eastern Europe for 70 years and had always believed that they were “building bridges” between Russia and Germany. Today, the success of this work is called into question, Hermes is sure. “We appeal to our many Russian friends and partners: raise your voice and help put an end to this war!” he concluded.

“Special operation in Donbass”

On the night of February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a “special military operation in the Donbass” in order to protect people who “have been subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.” Putin’s claims of genocide have previously been refuted by both the European Union and the United Nations. Western politicians accused the Russian president of lying.

Russia recognized “DNR” and “LNR”

On the evening of February 21, Russia recognized the separatist “DNR” and “LNR”. Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the independence of these entities is recognized within the borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. The Federation Council of the Russian Federation allowed the president to use the army in eastern Ukraine, near the borders of which about 150,000 Russian troops were concentrated.

Kiev and the world community have sharply condemned the gross violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. The European Union, Great Britain, the USA have decided on new sanctions against Russia, Japan and Australia are going to follow them.

See also:

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the creation of the CIS
In December 1991, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus documented the collapse of the USSR. Moscow apparently hoped to maintain influence through the CIS and cheap gas supplies. But it turned out differently. The Russian Federation and Belarus created a union state, Ukraine increasingly looked to the West. In the photo: Leonid Kravchuk, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Boris Yeltsin and Stanislav Shushkevich during the official founding of the CIS in Almaty.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation
Legacy of the USSR and the Budapest Memorandum
Ukraine inherited from the USSR almost a million strong army and the 3rd largest nuclear arsenal in the world. Kiev refused the missiles, handing them over to Russia in exchange for economic assistance and security guarantees (Budapest Memorandum of 1994). While the West did not reciprocate Kiev and was not going to integrate it into its structures, the reaction of the Russian Federation was restrained. In the photo: Russian and US leaders Boris Yeltsin and Bill Clinton.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation
Cracks in Post-Soviet Friendship: Tuzla Conflict
The first major diplomatic crisis between Moscow and Kiev occurred under President Putin. In the fall of 2003, Russia suddenly began building a dam in the Kerch Strait towards the Ukrainian island of Tuzla. Kiev considered this an attempt to redistribute borders. The conflict was resolved after a personal meeting of the presidents. Construction was stopped, but the first cracks appeared on the facade of friendly relations between the two countries.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation
Orange Revolution 2004
In the presidential elections in Ukraine in 2004, the Russian Federation actively supported the pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovych, but the Orange Revolution prevented him from winning amid accusations of fraud. Pro-Western politician Viktor Yushchenko became president. His victory became the starting point of changes in the policy of the Russian Federation, designed to prevent what Moscow calls “color revolutions.”

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation
Shutting off Ukraine’s “gas valve” in the 2000s
During Viktor Yushchenko’s presidency, the Russian Federation twice shut off Ukraine’s “gas valve” – in 2006 and 2009, which led to interruptions in transit supplies to Europe. In the photo: a Gazprom employee at the Sudzha gas measuring station, 200 meters from the Ukrainian border, Kursk Region, Russia, 2009.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation
The promise of NATO membership
The key event happened in 2008. At the NATO summit in Bucharest, US President George W. Bush tried to get Ukraine and Georgia to receive a Membership Action Plan (MAP). Putin sharply objected, making it clear that he did not fully recognize the independence of Ukraine. As a result, Germany and France blocked Bush’s plan. Ukraine and Georgia were promised NATO membership, but no date.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation
Ukraine’s course towards the European Union
It was not possible to move quickly towards joining NATO, and Ukraine set a course for economic rapprochement with the EU. In the summer of 2013, the Russian Federation began to exert massive pressure on Kiev, almost cutting off Ukrainian exports at the border. The Yanukovych government has suspended preparations for signing an association agreement with Brussels. Soon protests began in Ukraine, in February 2014 Yanukovych fled to Russia.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation
Russian annexation of Crimea
A power vacuum emerged in Ukraine, in March 2014 Russia annexed Crimea. This was a turning point, the beginning of an undeclared war. Pictured: Russian military in Crimea (Simferopol, March 2014).

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation
War in Donbass
At the same time, Russian and local paramilitary structures provoked an outbreak of separatism in the Donbass, “people’s republics” were proclaimed in Donetsk and Luhansk, which were led by people who had come from the Russian Federation in unmarked uniforms. Kiev reacted slowly, waiting for the presidential elections at the end of May 2014, and only then decided on a large-scale use of force.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation
Birth of the Normandy Format
In early June 2014, in France, at events marking the 70th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy, newly elected President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko met for the first time with his Russian counterpart Putin through the mediation of the leaders of Germany and France. This is how the “Norman format” was born.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation
“Ilovaisky cauldron”
In the summer of 2014, the Ukrainian army began to push back the separatists, but at the end of August, Russia, according to Kiev, used its army on a large scale in the Donbass. Moscow denies this. The peak of the conflict was the defeat of the Ukrainian forces near Ilovaisk. The war along the entire front line ended with the signing of a ceasefire in Minsk in September, which was quickly broken.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation
Positional war continues
In early 2015, the separatists went on a broad offensive. Kiev accused Moscow of using an unmarked army, the Russian Federation denied everything. Ukrainian forces were defeated near the city of Debaltseve. Then, with the mediation of Germany and France, “Minsk-2” was signed, an agreement that still remains the main document for resolving the conflict. None of its points has been fully implemented.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation
The concentration of Russian troops on the border of Ukraine
In 2021, there was a new aggravation. Russia twice, in spring and autumn, drew up its troops to the western borders. Ukrainian and Western intelligence reports about the threat of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. To defuse the situation, a series of international negotiations took place in the West. However, the Russian Federation demands guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO and lets know that it is not going to withdraw troops yet.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation
The beginning of the war against Ukraine
In February 2022, Russia recognized the independence of the “DNR” and “LNR”. President Putin signed decrees allowing troops to enter Ukraine. On February 24, Russia started the war. According to the Ukrainian Border Service, Russian troops attacked the state border in several areas early in the morning. Infrastructure facilities in many cities of Ukraine were subjected to air strikes.
Author: Roman Goncharenko