German Chancellor Olaf Scholz travelled to Kyiv on Monday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
After his arrival, he announced €650 million worth of arms supplies to Ukraine. The German chancellor said:
“Germany will remain the strongest supporter of Ukraine in Europe.”
This is Scholz’s first visit to Kyiv in two and a half years. The previous time the chancellor visited Ukraine was in June 2022, together with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Scholz’s visit comes amid prolonged failures of the Ukrainian army on the frontline. For a long time now, the army has been suffering defeats despite the huge amount of military equipment provided by the US and Europe. Kyiv is also alarmed by the recent tests of Russia’s newest missile, Oreshnik.
Earlier, the German chancellor called the Russian president, their hour-long conversation being the first in almost two years. The German cabinet said after the talks that Scholz condemned Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and called on Putin to end it and withdraw troops. The Kremlin, for its part, called the conversation an attempt to “compare positions.” It is quite possible that the leaders discussed possible options for settling the Ukrainian crisis and Scholz has now arrived in Kyiv to propose these options to the Ukrainian president.
Earlier, the new EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, also arrived in Kyiv. Kallas said that she did not rule out the possibility of sending European military personnel to Ukraine. They may be needed, among other things, to monitor compliance with the ceasefire if a relevant agreement is reached.
