Germany will supply main battle tanks to Ukraine.
This decision is increasingly causing criticism of Olaf Scholz (SPD).
The news ticker.
Scholz defends decision:
Russia alone is responsible for the Ukraine war.
Threats from the Kremlin:
"We have something to answer with."
Editor's note
:
Read current developments from the Ukraine conflict in our new ticker.
The information on the Ukraine war processed here comes partly from the warring parties in Russia and Ukraine.
They can therefore not be independently checked in part.
Berlin/Kyiv/Moscow – Since Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) gave the go-ahead for the delivery of battle tanks to Ukraine, criticism of the decision has repeatedly been voiced.
One of the accusations is that Germany would become a war party.
Some of the criticism probably originated in the Kremlin itself. "It's unbelievable, but it's a fact: we're being threatened again with the German Leopard tank," said Vladimir Putin on Thursday (February 2) at a commemoration ceremony in the former Stalingrad (today Volgograd ).
Negotiations in the Ukraine war: Scholz rejects criticism
Scholz has already rejected the criticism several times.
An escalation would be prevented by close coordination with western partners, such as the USA, according to the Chancellor's assessment.
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Leopard I and II for Ukraine: Olaf Scholz defends himself against the allegations of escalation.
(archive image)
© Axel Heimken/dpa
According to his own statements, the SPD frontman repeatedly made it "very clear" to the rulers in Moscow that Russia bore sole responsibility for the Ukraine war.
So far, he has not noticed any threats from Russia, as reported by the
German Press Agency
.
Scholz rejected the statement made by Russian President Putin: Putin's words "are part of a series of abstruse historical comparisons that he uses to justify his attack on Ukraine," the Chancellor told
Bild am Sonntag
.
On the other hand, there is an agreement with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the weapons supplied from the West may only be used on Ukrainian territory, but not on Russian territory.
"There is a consensus on that," Scholz replied to a question from the newspaper.
Negotiations in the Ukraine war: Putin verbally shoots at the West
Putin's words on Thursday in Volgograd allowed a different reading.
"We have something to answer with.
And the matter does not end with the use of armored vehicles.
Everyone should understand that,” said the Kremlin boss there.
Tanks, drones, anti-aircraft defenses: weapons for Ukraine
Tanks, drones, anti-aircraft defenses: weapons for Ukraine
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov went even further afterwards.
"If new weapons appear, supplied by the collective West, Russia will use its existing potential more comprehensively to react in the course of the military special operation," Peskov said, referring to the tank deliveries decided by the West.
(Lucas Maier with dpa)
List of rubrics: © Dirk Waem/dpa
