Status: 12/14/2022 09:49 a.m
Ukraine is resisting Russian aggression, Putin’s calculations are not working: In his government statement on the upcoming EU summit, Chancellor Scholz promised Ukraine further assistance and a further 18 billion euros in aid from the EU.
According to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Russian President Vladimir Putin has failed in all of his goals in the war in Ukraine. “Not a single one of Putin’s plans worked,” said Scholz in a government statement to the upcoming EU summit in the Bundestag.
Putin had “fundamentally miscalculated”. He believed his troops would overrun Ukraine within days. He assumed that Europe and the democratic West were too divided to effectively help Ukraine. “He thought he could dry up Europe’s solidarity by turning off the gas supply.”
“The West has accepted the challenge”
Putin was wrong – “about the courage of the Ukrainians, about Europe, about us, about the character of our democracies, about our will to resist great power mania and imperialism,” said Scholz.
That is “the real story of this year 2022”. Ukraine is resisting Russian aggression, but the West has also accepted the challenge. “Together with our friends and partners, we have resolutely supported Ukraine – financially, humanitarianly and with arms.”
18 billion euros in EU funds for Ukraine
Scholz announced a further 18 billion euros in EU aid for Ukraine. It is important for Ukraine to survive the winter.
Scholz also emphasized the increased preparedness of NATO and Europe. The year showed “how indispensable the transatlantic alliance is”. With regard to the USA, he said that one should not allow oneself to be divided.