The Chancellor describes Russia’s attack on Ukraine as a “blatant breach of international law”.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The German government is horrified by Russia’s military action against Ukraine. “The Russian attack on Ukraine is a blatant breach of international law. Nothing can justify it,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in a first reaction, which was disseminated by the Federal Press Office.
He condemned “this ruthless act by President Putin in the strongest possible terms” and spoke of a “terrible day for Ukraine and a dark day for Europe”.
On Thursday night, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine from several flanks. According to the Russian news agency Interfax, the military attacked targets across Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba spoke of a “large-scale war against Ukraine”. President Volodymyr Zelensky declared martial law. According to Handelsblatt reporter Jürgen Klöckner, there was a bomb alarm in the capital Kiev.
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“The bomb alarm woke me up last night,” reports Klöckner on Twitter. He and his colleagues were brought to safety: “We were evacuated to an underground car park – with many other colleagues – to protect us from the bombs.”
Apparently several explosions could be heard. According to Interfax, the attack also took place from the water. There are landing operations of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Sea of Azov and in Odessa.
Agreement planned within the framework of the G7
The federal government now wants to coordinate closely within the framework of the G7, NATO and the EU. The EU heads of state and government will discuss the escalation in the Ukraine conflict at a crisis summit on Thursday evening.
Among other things, the meeting will deal with how Russia can be held accountable for its actions and how Ukraine can be supported. The EU had already decided on a package of sanctions against Moscow on Wednesday.
>> Read here: Russia attack Ukraine. The events in the live blog.
In the afternoon, the heads of state and government of the group of seven leading democratic economic powers (G7) will meet at Scholz’s invitation. Germany chairs the “Group of Seven”, which also includes the USA, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and Canada. It is expected that a drastic tightening of the sanctions will be decided at these meetings.
Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck, also strongly condemned Russia’s actions as a “shameless breach of international law”. “Now the unbelievable has happened,” said the Green politician on Thursday. “Russia is attacking Ukraine. We have a land war in Europe that we thought was only in history books.”
>> Read here: World leaders condemn the Russian attack on Ukraine.
On Wednesday evening, Habeck emphasized in a TV show that the Ukraine crisis would lead to a turning point in Germany’s energy policy.
(Photo: Reuters)
On Wednesday evening, Habeck emphasized in a TV show that the Ukraine crisis would lead to a turning point in Germany’s energy policy. “I expect a federal consensus that we’re going to get serious now and not talk about procedures to expand power grids, power plants or renewable energies,” said Habeck.
The federal government is prepared to accept high costs for this. “Then we’ll take money. In the end it’s just money. This is about national security. If the situation requires it, the necessary funds will be made available, ”said Habeck on ARD.
More: Electricity, gas, oil – industry fears the next price shock because of the Ukraine crisis