1.
A Chancellor train with a delay of six weeks
Chancellor Olaf Scholz met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv today, together with France's Emmanuel Macron, Italy's Mario Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Johannis.
It was about solidarity, arms and Ukraine's desire to join the EU.
Scholz, Macron and Draghi traveled together overnight in a special train to Kyiv, Scholz sat in the back.
An air raid alarm went off as soon as they arrived in Kyiv, but it was ended after a good 30 minutes.
Scholz and his colleagues first visited the suburb of Irpin, where Russian troops had been particularly brutal before they left.
Scholz spoke of senseless violence.
An entire city was destroyed in which there were no military structures at all.
He tweeted: "The brutal destruction of this city is a memorial - this war must end."
Enlarge image
Olaf Scholz in Kyiv
Photo: Ludovic Marin / dpa
The conversation with Zelenskyj in the presidential palace began shortly after 1 p.m.
The Ukrainian President wore an olive-colored T-shirt.
Scholz had previously exchanged his black short-sleeved shirt from the train ride for a suit and tie.
He declared: "We Europeans stand firmly by your side." Scholz invited Selenskyj to attend the G7 summit at Schloss Elmau at the end of June.
Whether personally present or via video link remained open.
Around noon there was another air alert.
Olaf Scholz advocated granting Ukraine and its neighboring Republic of Moldova the status of EU accession candidates.
Germany is in favor of a "positive decision," said the Chancellor.
"Ukraine is part of the European family." But while Macron also announced the delivery of other artillery systems, Scholz held back with concrete promises.
It is difficult to decide for whom the visit was more important, Scholz or Selenskyj.
The Russian attack in eastern Ukraine continued with vigor today.
Military experts speak of a critical moment.
The Ukrainian defenders are in dire need of weapons to hold their positions.
"We greatly appreciate your solidarity with our country and our people," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram;
he wants Scholz, Draghi and Macron to deliver more weapons than has been the case so far.
For Scholz, on the other hand, it was high time to counteract the impression of indifference.
Dozens of politicians from Germany were in Kyiv before him.
Measured by opposition leader Friedrich Merz, the chancellor's train came six weeks late.
Scholz's statement that he was not one of those who would travel to Kyiv for a "short in and out with a photo opportunity" seemed less empathetic from day to day.
The fact that Selenskyj welcomed him so warmly today should help Scholz domestically.
He didn't want to miss this photo opportunity after all.
Read more here: Scholz expresses solidarity with Ukraine
And here is more news and background information on the war in Ukraine:
Two US citizens apparently disappeared in eastern Ukraine after volunteering in combat:
They apparently fought voluntarily for Ukraine, now two Americans can't be found in the east of the country.
Should Russia hold them captive, there could be significant diplomatic ramifications.
»It would hit like a bomb«:
While the EU is discussing candidate status for Ukraine, states such as North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania have been waiting for a perspective for years.
There is frustration in Belgrade over the treatment of the »new child prodigy Ukraine«.
Medvedev mocks Scholz as a "liver sausage fan":
During Scholz' trip to Kiev, Moscow mocks the chancellor.
French President Macron and Italian Prime Minister Draghi are also being ridiculed by Russian ex-President Medvedev.
Find all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine here: The News Update
2.
The official who nearly destroyed America's democracy
How did the storming of the Capitol in Washington on January 6 come about?
A committee of inquiry in the US capital is investigating this question, and what the investigation uncovers takes your breath away.
America was apparently even closer to the abyss than we previously thought.
My colleague Roland Nelles from our Washington office recounts how one official almost destroyed democracy.
His name is Jeffrey Clark and he worked in the Justice Department.
He wanted to help Donald Trump stay in power with a trick after his election defeat.
And he probably also saw his chance to rise to Minister of Justice.
Enlarge image
Donald Trump on January 6, 2021
Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP
Clark wanted to take advantage of a special feature of American electoral law.
In the United States, the head of state is elected indirectly.
Usually, after each presidential election, electors are determined in the individual states, who then elect the president.
After the November 2020 election, it was clear that Joe Biden had won the majority of votes on the Electoral College.
Actually.
But Donald Trump and his helper Clark presumably wanted to overturn this.
In the general confusion, Clark suggested that an official letter from the Justice Department be sent to the relevant electoral authorities in all those states where Biden had narrowly won.
According to the draft of the letter, the ministry should draw attention to alleged inconsistencies in the elections.
As a result, the individual states should then consider sending Trump supporters to the official electoral body instead of Biden supporters.
With this trick, Trump could have won the election even though he had lost.
In his reconstruction of the hair-raising events leading up to the Capitol storm, Roland describes how Trump was willing to go along with the plan.
Luckily, Clark's superiors stepped in, allowing an angry Trump to scold them before he called off the action at the last moment.
And so the process is now a lesson in how quickly democracies can die - and what it sometimes takes to save them.
Read the full story here: How an Official Nearly Destroyed America's Democracy
3.
A Boeing fright from Hamburg
Yesterday, an A321 XLR took off from the Airbus site in Hamburg-Finkenwerder, cheered by the employees and admired by trade visitors.
"They celebrated a historic moment for the future of Airbus and air transport as a whole," writes my colleague Marco Evers, who was of course there.
What is so special about the plane?
The abbreviation XLR stands for "Extra Long Range", particularly large range.
The machine has a permanently installed auxiliary tank with which it can remain in the air for eleven hours.
The Atlantic is no longer an obstacle, and neither is the Pacific on the route between Japan and California.
"The holiday plane for the Mediterranean will become a jet that will teach larger models to fear," says Marco.
Airbus has already sold more than 500 machines before the first flight - a sensational success, which is favored by the fact that arch-competitor Boeing has been weakened by the scandals surrounding its defective 737 Max design.
Enlarge image
Maiden flight of the A321 XLR on Wednesday over Hamburg
Photo: Jean-Vincent Reymondon / Airbus
Airbus had to make a number of changes for the XLR plane.
Because the flights are longer, passengers go to the toilet more often, so the water and waste water tanks have been enlarged.
The extra kerosene also affects the weight, which is why the engineers strengthened the chassis and the brakes.
The new machine is expected to be approved in 2024.
Marco predicts that she will change the way we travel.
So far, airlines have handled their long-haul traffic with very large aircraft via central hubs.
In the future there will be many more direct flights, for example from Düsseldorf to Chicago, from Berlin to Boston, from Hamburg to Toronto.
This saved the passengers a lot of time and the airlines kerosene.
Good for air travelers, good for Airbus.
You can judge for yourself whether it is also good for the environment.
Read the whole story here: Boeing's terror comes from Hamburg
(Would you like to receive the "Situation in the evening" conveniently by e-mail in your inbox? Here you can order the daily briefing as a newsletter.)
What else is important today
Kevin Spacey "strongly" rejects sexual assault:
The actor Kevin Spacey is accused of sexual offenses against three men.
Now the process has begun in London – with clear words from his defender.
British and Swiss central banks raise key interest rates:
The Swiss National Bank surprises with a significant increase in key interest rates - and gets the stock markets excited.
The British colleagues are also ringing in the turnaround in interest rates.
Abducted girls are back in Germany:
after more than 200 days, the two girls who were secretly brought to Paraguay by »lateral thinking« parents are back in their homeland.
My favorite story today: Compulsory service divides the generations
Would it be good if all young people had to do a compulsory year after school, in the military, in social work or in environmental protection?
With this demand, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier started a debate which, in my opinion, is leading to a generational conflict, with boomers versus Generation Z. The old are mostly in favor, the young mostly against.
But it can also be the other way around.
My columnist colleague Sascha Lobo, in his late 40s, wrote a furious text against Steinmeier's proposal, saying it was an "outdated, envious, future- and youth-hostile idea."
Sascha calls compulsory service a "toxic concept" that is supposed to whitewash the social and political failures of several generations over time and with the strength of young people.
He writes: »Keep on discussing beyond the young minds.
But don't complain if, in a few years, the grandchildren will no longer come by themselves, but instead send their friendly greetings to the care robot.«
Enlarge image
Compulsory service for young people - a contribution to society or »occupational therapy«?
Photo: Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images
My colleague Anne Baum, in her mid-20s, from the Start department, has a completely different opinion.
She says: »It pays to serve society for a year.
Compulsory service is the best thing that can happen to us.«
I'm already on Lobo in terms of age, but Anne makes an argument that I find particularly interesting.
She says compulsory service has been the most rewarding for her because it gives you a respite before you get sucked into the maelstrom of study or work.
Service to society is therefore above all service to oneself.
I recommend both texts to you.
Feel free to write who convinced you more, Sascha or Anne: alexander.neubacher@spiegel.de
Read the current column by Sascha Lobo here: A year for the state in slavery, preferably at the gas station
And read Anne Baum's comment here: Compulsory service is the best thing that can happen to us
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+
Last rest, provisional:
Helmut Kohl died five years ago today.
The tomb is still unfinished.
The city is pushing, Kohl's son Walter and the widow are arguing.
What's going on in Speyer?
A visit .
»I thought it was mosquito bites – but it was monkeypox«:
When Alexander Winter contracted monkeypox, acquaintances asked whether he had been to sex parties.
The reaction of the health department also irritated him.
Here the 36-year-old tells what such an infection feels like.
Large-scale cyber attack on the Greens:
According to SPIEGEL information, the Greens have been the victims of cyber attacks several times in the past few weeks.
Leading politicians of the party are also said to be affected.
BKA and Berlin LKA investigate.
Which is less important today
Enlarge image
Tom Hanks: "Could a straight man do today what I did in 'Philadelphia'?
No, and that's right."
Photo: Ian West / dpa
Role understanding:
Hollywood star Tom Hanks, 65, would no longer play gay today.
“Could a straight guy do what I did in 'Philadelphia' today?
No, and rightly so," he told the New York Times Magazine.
Hanks won an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1994 for his role as a lawyer with AIDS.
"I don't think people would accept the lack of authenticity of a straight guy playing a gay guy," Hanks said.
»It is not a crime, not a boo, if someone says that in the modern world of authenticity we demand more from a film.«
Typo of the day
, now corrected: "In Germany, the animals have found a free ecological niche for themselves, says the biologist Michael Braun."
Cartoon of the day:
Will the West stay tuned?
And tonight?
Remember the movie Back to the Future starring Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly?
I almost forgot about him until I stumbled upon this news today: 'The boxed first edition VHS version of Back to the Future Part One sold for $75,000 at an auction in the United States.
The videocassette previously belonged to actor Tom Wilson, who played villain Biff Tannen in the three films.”
Enlarge image
Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown in Back to the Future
Photo: United Archives/ 0000015 / ddp
A few days ago, my colleague Sandra Schulz wrote about objects from our childhood that make us feel good.
In my case, it's often books, records or films - and »Back to the Future« is clearly one of them.
Only the first part, of course.
You can find the film on the usual streaming platforms and maybe also on a videotape in your basement.
I wish you a nice evening.
Yours sincerely,
Alexander Neubacher
Here you can order the »Situation in the Evening« by e-mail.