The Chancellor to Vladimir Putin: “You are destroying the future of your own country.”
(Photo: IMAGO/Andre Lenthe)
Berlin Politicians from the CDU and CSU have called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to travel to Ukraine like other Western politicians. “I hope that our Chancellor will also follow this example and get an idea on the spot,” said the Union’s chairman in the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Roderich Kiesewetter (CDU), the Handelsblatt. “Germany should fulfill its vital role as a hinge in Europe and lead the way in supporting Ukraine, managing the crisis and adopting the necessary measures that will hopefully lead to the end of the war.”
The CSU MP Volker Ullrich also sees the federal government on the train. “More than ever, it would be an important sign that the leading representative of the federal government, Olaf Scholz, would travel to Ukraine,” Ullrich wrote on Twitter.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer were four top Western politicians who traveled to Kyiv within a few days.
In the SPD, a visit to Ukraine by Scholz is not considered necessary. In an interview with the Handelsblatt, SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich referred to the solidarity that Germany is showing with Ukraine. “But that is not decided by pictures, but by action.”
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Scholz himself took part in an SPD election campaign event in Lübeck in Schleswig-Holstein on Saturday, where a new state parliament will be elected on May 8th. In a speech, he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of imperialist thinking “like what we saw in the 19th, 18th, 17th and other centuries.”
Attack on the train station in Kramatorsk causes horror
The chancellor again demanded an immediate ceasefire from Putin and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. “You are destroying the future of your own country,” said Scholz. The Western sanctions are already having a dramatic impact on Russia’s economic development. They will also help Ukraine to defend itself. “It is right that we equip them with defensive weapons. We did it and we will continue to do it.”
Other European politicians showed their solidarity with Ukraine with short visits to Kyiv. Prime Minister Johnson promised to deliver more arms to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. Austria’s Chancellor Nehammer promised Selenski that the EU would further tighten sanctions against Russia.
>> Read here: All developments in the Ukraine war here in the live blog
With regard to Scholz, the CDU politician Kiesewetter emphasized that it was important that such a visit “not just remain a sign of solidarity”. “The main thing is to grasp the perspective and situation of Ukraine and to understand the brutality of Russia’s war crimes.” Russia is waging a war of annihilation.
Capturing the dimension that this war has for all of Europe “should then help Germany to go ahead and support Ukraine with weapons even faster and more effectively, support more effective sanctions such as an embargo and open up clear future prospects for Ukraine”.
In addition to the atrocities in Bucha, where hundreds of bodies were discovered after the Russian soldiers withdrew a few days ago, the tragedy in Kramatorsk continued to cause horror. Thousands were waiting for trains there when the rocket blast killed at least 52 people, according to Ukrainian sources.
The EU, like the US, blamed Russia for the attack on the train station. One was deeply shocked, said the EU’s foreign policy spokesman in a statement on Saturday. “It was a brutal, indiscriminate bombing attack on innocent civilians, including many children, who were fleeing fear of another Russian attack on their homes and countries.” Those responsible for this war crime must be held accountable.
More: Economic historian on Russia sanctions: “It’s enough to do the morally right thing”