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Melnyk puts pressure on Scholz because of his trip to Kyiv: "We need HEAVY weapons"

2022-06-16T09:09:22.098Z


Melnyk puts pressure on Scholz because of his trip to Kyiv: "We need HEAVY weapons" Created: 06/16/2022, 11:05 am By: Patrick Mayer, Andreas Schmid Olaf Scholz is visiting Kyiv. Melnyk uses this to demand far-reaching concessions on arms supplies. The news ticker on the German reactions. Chancellor in Ukraine: Olaf Scholz travels to Kiev on Thursday. Finance Minister Lindner declares: Germany


Melnyk puts pressure on Scholz because of his trip to Kyiv: "We need HEAVY weapons"

Created: 06/16/2022, 11:05 am

By: Patrick Mayer, Andreas Schmid

Olaf Scholz is visiting Kyiv.

Melnyk uses this to demand far-reaching concessions on arms supplies.

The news ticker on the German reactions.

  • Chancellor in Ukraine:

    Olaf Scholz

    travels to Kiev on Thursday.

  • Finance Minister

    Lindner

    declares: Germany has frozen 4.48 billion euros in Russian assets.

  • "Crucial" demands: The Ukraine ambassador Melnyk has a wish list for Scholz.

  • This

    news ticker on German reactions to the Ukraine war

    is continuously updated.

Update from June 16,

10:01 a.m .: Melnyk also emphasized his demands for the Scholz trip to Kiev on Twitter: “We urgently need HEAVY weapons.

Ukrainians hope that the @Chancellor will


not come to Kyiv empty-handed,” the ambassador wrote

(see previous update)

.

Scholz visit in Kyiv: Melnyk calls for "groundbreaking"

Update from June 16, 8:51 a.m .:

The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, asked Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to make far-reaching commitments to arms deliveries during his visit to Kiev.

"The Ukrainians hope that the forthcoming visit by Chancellor Olaf Scholz will not only be of symbolic importance, but will be groundbreaking," Melnyk told the online edition of the

Rheinische Post

.

Germany's military aid must be raised "to a qualitatively new level".

It is "very important that the German head of government sees the devastation caused by Russian aggression with his own eyes and talks to the victims of the war," said Melnyk.

He must recognize “the urgency” “why Ukraine must be supported with full force, much stronger and more extensively with heavy weapons”.

Above all, Kyiv expects Scholz to finally give the green light for the requested 88 Leopard 1 main battle tanks and 100 Marder infantry fighting vehicles.

In addition, Scholz should release heavy weapons from the stocks of the Bundeswehr.

This would "not reduce the Federal Republic's ability to defend itself," said Melnyk.

"Nothing stands in the way of Germany making a significant part of its own 800 Fuchs transport tanks, 325 Leopard 2 tanks or 380 Marder tanks available to the Ukrainian army in order to crush the Russian troops."

In the medium term, according to Melnyk, Ukraine also needs German submarines, corvettes, patrol boats and combat boats "to defend the long Black Sea coast and eliminate Russian superiority at sea".

This would also guarantee food security.

The Ukrainian ambassador in Germany: Andrij Melnyk (archive image) © Chris Emil Janssen/Imago

Ukrainian refugees in Germany: criticism of Melnyk's statement

Update from June 16, 7:01 a.m.:

According to Andriy Melnyk, many Ukrainians do not feel welcome in Germany.

The Ukrainian ambassador now receives objection.

"I think that's completely wrong," said the philosopher Peter Sloterdijk of the German Press Agency.

"We ourselves have also taken in refugees on a number of occasions, and we know people who have also done so." He knows first-hand that feelings of being unwelcome are the exception rather than the rule.

On the contrary, there is still a huge wave of friendliness and helpfulness.

also read

Putin's "Hunger Plan" in Three Acts: Historian Declares Next "Stage of War" and Predicts Unrest

Shortly after Scholz's arrival in Kyiv: air alarm triggered

"Around half a million Ukrainians are still with us, and if many have already returned to western Ukraine, it's because they only came temporarily from the start to seek protection, not as emigrants," Sloterdijk continued.

The Germans "distinguished themselves as friendly hosts in an astonishingly clear way".

Putin friend Schröder: Ex-Chancellor does not want to accept the deletion of his privileges

Update from June 15, 9:30 p.m .:

Gerhard Schröder (SPD) does not want to accept the decision of the Bundestag budget committee to delete his former chancellor privileges unchecked and, according to media reports, is looking for a conversation with the committee.

The committee's decision, which can be seen in the media, was "evidently unlawful and unconstitutional," quoted the news portal "The Pioneer" on Wednesday evening from a letter from Schröder's lawyer to the chairman of the Bundestag's budget committee, Helge Braun (CDU).

On behalf of his client, the lawyer therefore requests the committee to send him an “auditable and therefore appealable decision”.

Schröder learned "through the media" that his office was to be "put on hold" and that the positions assigned to the office were to be wound down.

The lawyer and Braun's office initially did not respond to inquiries from the

German Press Agency (dpa)

in the evening.

Schröder, a long-time friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly come under pressure because of his connections to Russia.

After the Russian attack on Ukraine, this increased further.

Several motions to expel the party were made.

Less heavy weapons than expected: Germany is only supplying Ukraine with three multiple rocket launchers

Update from June 15, 7.30 p.m .:

Germany will provide Ukraine with three Mars II multiple rocket launchers.

This was announced by Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) after a meeting in Brussels with representatives from almost 50 countries to coordinate military support for Ukraine.

The Federal Republic is thus supplying fewer artillery systems than previously assumed.

So far, according to consistent media reports, there has been talk of four rocket launchers from Bundeswehr stocks.



According to ZDF's "heute journal", the USA is also supplying four and Great Britain three multiple rocket launchers of the type MLRS, the counterpart to the German MARS II. The artillery systems can hit targets more than 80 kilometers away.

Kyiv had recently asked for around 300 rocket launchers in a kind of weapons list.

Ten copies are provided by the western defense alliance NATO.

"With this levy, I've gone to the limit of what I can do in order not to endanger the fact that we can no longer guarantee the defense of the country and the alliance as the Bundeswehr," said Federal Defense Minister Lambrecht after the consultations with the US-led Ukraine -Contact group in Brussels.

The Bundeswehr's heavy artillery weapon system: the MARS II rocket launcher.

© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa

Finance Minister Lindner declares: Germany has frozen 4.48 billion euros in Russian assets

Update from June 15, 6:10 p.m .:

Germany has frozen Russian assets worth 4.48 billion euros as a result of sanctions because of the Ukraine war.

This was stated by Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) this Wednesday.

These include central bank deposits, company investments as well as ships and yachts.

From the beginning of March, the European Union (EU) imposed strict sanctions against Russian oligarchs and politicians and entrepreneurs close to the Kremlin.

In Germany, a law was passed in May that is intended to facilitate and enable the confiscation of assets belonging to Russian oligarchs in the Federal Republic.

Pressure on Chancellor Scholz: Selenskyj adviser refers to killed Ukrainian soldiers before visiting Kyiv

Update from June 15, 5:15 p.m .:

A close advisor to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj increased the pressure on Olaf Scholz (SPD) immediately before the Chancellor’s trip to Kiev.

"You can't fight with promises, they don't help on the battlefield.

We address our partners with a simple philosophy: The world as it was before the war will never exist again.

She will be different.

And we cannot afford to lose the war and make territorial concessions," Mikhail Podoljak explained in an interview with the news magazine

Der Spiegel

: "We cannot afford to lose 100, 150 or 200 soldiers a day.

This is a depressing picture and that is why we look to our partners with hope.”

We cannot afford to lose 100, 150 or 200 soldiers a day.

Mikhailo Podoliak, adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Less gas over Nord Stream 1: Vice Chancellor Habeck sees a “political decision” behind it

Update from June 15, 2 p.m.:

Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) considers the cutback in gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline announced by the Russian energy company Gazprom to be politically motivated.

Habeck said on Wednesday in Berlin that he was of the opinion that the throttling announced on Tuesday was a "political decision".

The procedure was “not technically justifiable”.

Gazprom had announced the day before that gas supplies via the Nord Stream pipeline in the Baltic Sea would be cut significantly.

Only 100 million cubic meters of gas per day can be guaranteed instead of the usual 167 million cubic meters - that's a reduction of a good 40 percent.

Scholz' visit to Ukraine: Melnyk makes two "crucial" demands

Update from June 15, 12:40 p.m

.: Shortly before Olaf Scholz’s trip to Kiev, the Ukrainian ambassador is putting pressure on him.

Andriy Melnyk speaks of two "crucial" demands.

"Firstly, we want the German head of government to promise in no uncertain terms, without ifs or buts, that he will be granted candidate status for EU membership and to ensure that next week's European Council makes this historic decision unanimously," Melnyk told RTL/ntv.

In addition, Ukraine expects that Scholz "jumps over the shadow of German hesitancy on the subject of heavy weapons and massively supports Ukraine with really all available means from the Bundeswehr stocks and the armaments industry".

Before Scholz's trip to Kyiv: Ukraine demands weapons

Update from June 15, 6:25 a.m .:

Ukraine has again requested modern missile defense weapons from its foreign partners in order to be able to repel Russian attacks from a distance.

It should also be about arms deliveries when Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi visit Kyiv.

The trip is expected, but no official date has been announced yet.

According to its military leadership, Ukraine has so far only received a tenth of the necessary arms aid from abroad.

"To date, we have about ten percent of what Ukraine said it needs," said Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar on Ukrainian television.

Russia is infinitely superior in armament and number of soldiers.

"No matter how Ukraine tries, no matter how professional our army is, we will not be able to win this war without the help of partners."

Invitation to Kyiv: Klitschko would like to show Chancellor Scholz his city

Update from June 14, 10:15 p.m

.: In an interview published in the evening by ZDF, Mayor Vitali Klitschko invited Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to Kiev.

“I enjoy showing and presenting my city.

How beautiful the city is.

That it is a real European city.

I would be very happy if I got the opportunity to present the city to the Federal Chancellor," said the former professional boxer in an interview with the "heute journal".

Klitschko is very well known in Germany, part of his family lives in Hamburg.

The former boxing champion has been the mayor of the Ukrainian capital since 2014.

Skepticism about Scholz: Selenskyj consultant thinks a visit to Ukraine is a ruse

Update from June 14, 7:15 p.m

.: Oleksiy Arestovych, advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, is skeptical about the expected visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

"I think they will try to push us to a peace agreement because of the food problems …" Arestovych explained in an interview with the

picture

(behind a paywall): "I'm afraid they will try to reach a Minsk III.

They will say that we need to end the war that is causing food problems and economic problems, that Russians and Ukrainians are dying, that we need to save Mr Putin's face, that the Russians made mistakes, that we need to forgive them and give them a chance must give to return to world society.”

The Minsk II Agreement

was in February 2015

negotiated between ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel (67 years, CDU), ex-Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko (56), France's then President François Hollande (67) and Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin (69).

The aim was for the ceasefire in Donbass planned in Minsk I to finally be implemented.

The armistice was broken again shortly after it was signed, and Minsk II ultimately became obsolete due to the Russian invasion of the neighboring country.

Update from June 14, 6:45 p.m

.: Olaf Scholz (SPD) is heavily criticized for his hesitation in the Russia-Ukraine war.

After Volodymyr Zelenskyj's broadside, the Chancellor receives the next political slap in the face from Eastern Europe.

After criticism by Selenskyj: Federal President Steinmeier defends Chancellor Scholz

Update from June 14, 2:20 p.m

.: Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier defends Chancellor Olaf Scholz against recent criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj.

Germany stands "firmly on the side of Ukraine, the people who were invaded by Russia," Steinmeier emphasized on Tuesday during a visit to Singapore.

Literally, Selenskyj said on ZDF: "We need Chancellor Scholz's assurance that Germany will support Ukraine.

He and his government have to make a decision. ”Steinmeier advised waiting for Scholz's upcoming visit to Kyiv.

"Then in a direct conversation you might be able to come to a slightly different point of view in Ukraine as well."

Scholz in Ukraine: Details of the Chancellor's visit leaked out

Update from June 14, 1 p.m.:

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is expected in Ukraine on Thursday

(June 16)

and is planning a visit program of around six hours, reports the

Tagesspiegel

.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi are also expected to travel to Kyiv.

In addition, the Romanian President Klaus Johannis could also take part in the visit, it said.

After arrival, several meetings are planned from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., above all a longer meeting with the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Scholz before Ukraine trip: Selenskyj criticizes German "skepticism" - Klitschko with different tones

Update from June 14, 12:40 p.m .:

Volodymyr Zelenskyj criticized “a certain skepticism” from Germany towards Ukraine in the ZDF interview.

Chancellor Scholz and the government “have to make a decision”: no attempt should be made to “strike a balancing act” between Ukraine and relations with Russia.

The President also spoke about the lack of arms deliveries.

With simultaneous thanks to Germany for the support overall, a conversation in which German politics does not come off completely well (see first report)

Wladimir Klitschko, brother of Kyiv Mayor Vitali, is meanwhile taking a different tack.

"Certainly we urgently need more weapons, we need help with EU accession and further humanitarian support," Klitschko

said

.

"But we shouldn't forget what so many have done, not least in taking in refugees." Ambassador Melnyk had criticized exactly that the day before.

Ukrainian refugees did not feel welcome.

In Germany, one should think about why so many Ukrainians "have no desire to stay here".

Klitschko seems to be bothered by such statements or those "skeptical" accusations by Zelenskyj.

His motto: “Especially before the Federal Chancellor's visit to Kyiv, we should leave no doubt about one thing: Germany was, is and will always be a partner of Ukraine.

There can be no two opinions on this and Scholz has long since made a clear commitment to this in the Bundestag.

Scholz in Ukraine: Selenskyj wants to "welcome" Chancellor - appeal to Germany

Update from June 14, 12 noon:

With a view to Chancellor Olaf Scholz's planned visit to Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj told the weekly newspaper

Die Zeit

that they were open and would "welcome all our friends to Kiev".

With regard to the Ukrainian arms demands on Germany, the Ukrainian head of state stated that deliveries from Germany were "still lower than they could be".

However, according to Zelenskyy, the chancellor knows “exactly what Ukraine needs”.

When asked if he would like Scholz to say "Ukraine must win," the Ukrainian president replied, "I think Olaf Scholz weighs what he says carefully.

But whatever the wording, dozens of people are dying every day here in Ukraine.

Every day.

How am I supposed to stay calm?

Putin hates the idea of ​​a free and united life in Europe and we oppose it.

So say what you want and how you want it, but help us.

Please."

Before Scholz's visit to Ukraine: Selenskyj criticizes arms deliveries - "that's a fact"

First report from June 14:

Kiev – Volodymyr Selenskyj speaks in a ZDF interview about the war in his country and the German reactions to it.

Will Ukraine get enough help?

How does the Ukrainian President rate the politics of Olaf Scholz, who, after much hesitation, now wants to travel to Kyiv after all?

Selenskyj does not only have praise for the Chancellor.

Ukraine is very grateful for the solidarity from Germany.

However, like France, Germany only supported Ukraine politically and rhetorically at the beginning of the war.

"At the beginning of the war we didn't need politics - we needed help."

Recently, the Ukrainian side has frequently denounced the fact that Germany is too hesitant to deliver arms that it has already promised to Ukraine.

With a view to Scholz's statement that no country supplies on a similar scale to Germany, Selenskyj said: "I cannot confirm that." With regard to arms deliveries, the 44-year-old said: "Germany came a little later than some of our neighboring countries, which arms deliveries.

That's a fact.” The first to support Ukraine were the United States, Slovakia, Poland, Britain, the Baltic States, as well as Bulgaria and Romania, among others.

Scholz in Ukraine: Selenskyj warns Chancellor of a crucial mistake - "no balancing act"

When asked about the German-Ukrainian relationship, Selenskyj saw “a certain skepticism in the German leadership towards Ukraine”.

For example, when it comes to Ukraine's accession to the EU or NATO.

Ukraine is striving to join the alliance.

However, he does not think that this skepticism is due to Scholz.

"I don't think it's new.

Unfortunately, this skepticism could also be felt before Chancellor Scholz came in.” He now expects the SPD Chancellor “to support us personally” in EU accession and that the European Union will grant his country the status of a candidate for accession this June.

The President demanded that Germany take a clearer stance on the Ukraine war: “We need Chancellor Scholz to assure us that Germany will support Ukraine.

He and his government have to make a decision.” There should be no attempt to achieve a “balancing act” between Ukraine and relations with Russia.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-06-16

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