German Chancellor Olaf Schol made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Monday. File Photo via G7/UPI | License Photo
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday where he was set to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and announce new funding for Ukraine.
Scholze said he would announce $684 million in new military aid for Ukraine to be delivered this month as he declared that “Germany will remain Ukraine’s strongest supporter in Europe. Advertisement
“We will continue our military support for Ukraine in close coordination with our European and international partners,” Scholz said on X. I agree with [Zelensky] that we will remain in contact — also with a perspective to possible paths to a just peace.”
The meeting comes as Zelensky in November blamed Scholz for failing to help isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin and his country.
Scholz called Putin last month in what he said was a move meant to make clear to the Russian leader that Western support for Ukraine would persist, but he faced criticism as most Western leaders have not contacted Putin since the start of the war in 2022.
Scholz has also called for Ukraine and Russia to come together for a peace summit. Advertisement
A similar summit was held in June but Russia, the aggressor in the current stalemate, was not extended an invitation.
On Sunday, Zelensky said it would be willing to talk about freezing the conflict on its current lines in exchange for Ukraine being permitted into NATO or receiving equivalent security pledges.
Moscow reiterated in Putin’s conversation with Scholz that it wanted any agreement with Ukraine to reflect “new territorial realities and address the root causes of the conflict.” In the past, Putin has expressed that Ukraine should never be allowed to join NATO.
