German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Visits Ukraine Ahead of Confidence Vote, Promises €650 Million in Aid
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has arrived in Ukraine for the first time in two and a half years, and for the second time during his tenure as Chancellor. Scholz announced this on the social network X.
‘Ukraine can rely on us. We say what we do. And we do what we say. To confirm this once again, I arrived in Kyiv tonight: by train through a country that has been defending itself against Russian aggression for more than 1,000 days,’ Scholz wrote on social media platform X.
His visit comes both at a time of escalating Russian attacks on Ukraine and as his government faces a political crisis at home that is likely to remove him from power in next February's elections.
During his visit, Scholz promised Ukraine an additional aid package, saying that Germany would supply ‘additional weapons worth 650 million euros’ to the war-torn country.
The German leader has been criticised for his approach to Ukraine, most notably for his refusal to send Kyiv powerful Taurus cruise missiles for use in the war, which he has long argued would risk Germany being directly involved in the conflict.
On 29 November, President Zelenskyy spoke by phone with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Among other things, the politicians discussed Scholz's recent call to Russian dictator Putin. Scholz called the conversation with the Russian leader ‘unpleasant but necessary’. In turn, the Ukrainian president called the call a weakening of Putin's isolation and a Pandora's box.