Scholz travels to Kyiv and meets Selenskyj: the end of hesitation
Created: 06/18/2022, 06:10
By: Klaus Rimpel
Klaus Rimpel comments on Scholz' (left) visit to Selenskyj in Kyiv.
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa/Klaus Haag
During the war in Ukraine, the chancellor didn't want to go there just for a photo opportunity - so more must follow now.
A comment by Klaus Rimpel.
Munich - It is no coincidence that Russia cuts gas supplies to Germany again on the day that Olaf Scholz travels to Kyiv.
The message to the German public is clear: This is the price you have to pay for supporting Ukraine!
Putin blackmailed.
Putin is lying - because the justifications for the delivery reduction are obviously pretended.
And: Putin is using the gas as a weapon - something even the Soviet Union never did during the coldest days of the Cold War.
It is Putin's infamous and aggressive policy, not the pressure from Volodymyr Zelensky, that is forcing Olaf Scholz to be more clear.
Ukraine comment: Scholz' trip to Kyiv with Macron and Draghi must be the starting signal
The Ukraine is getting more and more on the defensive militarily, its artillery ammunition is running low.
Without increased arms aid from Germany, too, Russia will win this war - and Putin will continue to pursue his tsarist dreams of Greater Russia.
It is true that Scholz hesitated for a long time, not only with his trip to Kyiv, but also with military and political support for Ukraine.
But it's not too late yet.
The chancellor didn't want to go to Kyiv just for a photo shoot - that's why more must follow now than just dismay rhetoric in the face of the destruction of the war.
The journey together with Macron, Mario Draghi and Klaus Iohannis must be the starting signal for more active EU support for Ukrainians struggling to survive.
The Chancellor's commitment to Kiev's EU accession plans was a first important sign.
