Foreign Minister of Ukraine: Germany's politics a mystery - he demands from Scholz "leadership in Europe"

Created: 05/01/2022, 20:11

Is somewhat surprised by the German approach: the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba classifies the support from Berlin.

© Francisco Seco/dpa

More and more politicians are working on Gerhard Schröder.

Meanwhile, Kyiv is complaining about Berlin's hesitant approach.

The news ticker on reactions from Germany to the Ukraine war.

• Ukraine conflict: Germany is concerned about the war in Ukraine and its consequences.

• Attack from Bavaria: CSU leader Markus Söder massively attacks Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) because of his actions in the conflict.

• Criticism of Germany: Ukraine considers the Federal Republic's approach to be hesitant compared to other European countries.

• This

  news ticker on reactions from Germany in the Ukraine war

  is continuously updated.

  You can read the background to the Ukraine crisis here.

Update from May 1, 7.45 p.m .:

The Ukrainian government classifies the German reaction to the Russian war of aggression as rather hesitant compared to other European countries.

In Monday's edition of the

, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Germany should "take the lead in Europe, especially when it comes to Ostpolitik."

This applies to arms deliveries to Ukraine, sanctions against Russia and the granting of EU candidate status to Ukraine.

Overall, Ukraine is hoping for “courageous, visionary decisions” by the federal government.

Although Kuleba showed appreciation for the previous arms deliveries from Germany.

It is a mystery to him that Berlin has changed its attitude from week to week.

Update from May 1, 2:28 p.m

.: Criticism of former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) is getting louder.

"Former holders of top offices who are apparently on the side of criminal governments cannot count on the support of this state," said FDP leader Christian Lindner at the weekend.

"We should draw conclusions," explained the head of the Liberals to the

newspapers.

Lindner emphasized that it was no longer conceivable for him that Schröder would be provided with an office by the taxpayer.

Gerhard Schröder (archive image) © Christoph Soeder/dpa

Is CDU leader Merz traveling to Selenskyj in Kyiv?

BKA is said to have "expressly" advised against it

Update from May 1, 1:31 p.m

.: The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) is said to

have “explicitly” advised Friedrich Merz against his planned trip to Ukraine , according to

The CDU boss had been asked to postpone the trip, the newspaper reported this Sunday.

Merz only informed the security authorities about the trip on Friday (April 29).

The BKA is said to have emphasized that such a trip to the war zone requires a little more advance notice.

According to the report, Merz is also said to have rejected BKA personal protection.

The Federal Ministry of the Interior did not want to comment on this when asked by the newspaper, and Merz did not initially comment either.

The trip should take place on Tuesday night, as the

reported.

In Kyiv there should possibly be a meeting with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj.

At the beginning of April, the chairmen of the Bundestag committees for defense (Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, FDP), external relations (Michael Roth, SPD) and European affairs (Anton Hofreiter, Greens) traveled to western Ukraine.

According to reports, CDU leader Friedrich Merz wants to travel to Ukraine.

© Fabian Sommer/dpa

CSU boss Söder attacks former Chancellor Schröder in the Ukraine conflict – "Stubborn, old man"

Update from May 1, 11:34 a.m

.: Sharp tones from the small CSU party conference in Würzburg: party leader Markus Söder called Olaf Scholz’s appearance in the Ukraine conflict “unworthy of a German chancellor”.

The AFP news agency summarizes this again this Sunday and provides more quotes (our first report on Söder's sweeping attack against Scholz's traffic light coalition in this news ticker).

Söder also sharply criticized Gerhard Schröder.

The former chancellor, who has been criticized for his friendship with the Russian head of state Vladimir Putin and his commitment to the Russian energy industry, is a "stubborn, bizarre old man for whom his own bank account is more important than Germany's reputation".

Schröder is embarrassing, "a shame for our country".

He should leave the SPD and give up his privileges as former chancellor.

Video: Söder launches a sweeping attack against political competition

Söder on Lambrecht in the Ukraine conflict: "She is completely overwhelmed"

CSU General Secretary Mayer said that in the meantime the question had arisen as to whether Scholz should be reported missing.

The Chancellor not only seemed overwhelmed, he had the impression "he is too," said Mayer.

"We do not need a chancellor who hesitates and procrastinates, we need a chancellor who takes responsibility, especially in these challenging times."

Söder said he hoped that with the Bundestag decision to deliver heavy weapons, the federal government would now turn the lever: "Germany has been making an embarrassing figure for weeks, this must also end last Thursday."

Traffic light coalition in the Ukraine conflict for Söder more of a "light organ"

In his aggressive speech, Söder also attacked the ruling parties SPD, Greens and FDP.

A traffic light is switched with a clear light sequence, but this traffic light gives "more the impression of a light organ".

Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) accused Söder of having been invisible for weeks.

"She's completely overwhelmed," he said.

Söder accused the Greens of making too big leaps in a short time.

The Greens used to go to peace demonstrations, today they constantly demand rearmament "with a moral rigor".

The FDP, in turn, has thrown its financial policy principles overboard.

In Bavaria, a new state parliament will be elected in autumn 2023, and the new basic program should form the basis for the election program.

Reactions from Germany in the Ukraine war: Faeser accuses the Russian embassy of campaigning

First report from May 1

: Berlin - "Some online platforms offer ideal conditions for disinformation campaigns and war propaganda": With these words, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) accused the Russian embassy of spreading fake news about the Ukraine war.

“The Russian embassy also uses this,” Faeser continued in an interview with the

(May 2 edition).

She didn't rule out the consequences.

The ruling traffic light coalition has already expelled 40 alleged diplomats "whom we attribute to the Russian intelligence services".

But there are “further options for action”.

Germany in the Ukraine war: fight against Russian propaganda

The Russian war propaganda "must not have any influence on the internal peace in our country," emphasized the minister.

She pointed out that such hybrid threats are already being addressed.

For example, the European Union (EU) has ensured that the Russian propaganda

is not allowed to broadcast here.

"We have to counteract the false narratives, the lies and the disinformation with facts," stressed Faeser.

The 40 Russian diplomats were expelled in early April.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) justified this by saying that the members of the Russian embassy "worked in Germany every day against our freedom, against the cohesion of our society".