Scholz on the Ukraine war: “Don’t rest until peace is secured in Europe”

Russia’s attack on Ukraine is a “watershed moment” for Europe, according to Chancellor Scholz. In his government statement, he announced drastic changes in German defense and foreign policy.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has assured Ukraine full solidarity against the Russian attack. In a government statement during a special session of the Bundestag on the Ukraine war, the SPD politician said: “As democrats, as Europeans, we stand by your side – on the right side of history.” The actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin are inhuman, contrary to international law and “cannot be justified by anything or anyone”. “The outrageous injustice, the pain of the Ukrainians – they affect us all very much,” said Scholz.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “started a war of aggression in cold blood”. Scholz described this as a “turning point in the history of our continent”. “The world after is no longer the same as the world before.” At its core is the question of whether power can break the law and whether Putin can be allowed to turn the clock back to the time of the great powers of the 19th century. “Or whether we can muster the strength to set limits on warmongers like Putin.” According to Scholz, the Russian President has created a new reality that requires a clear answer.

Change of direction in arms deliveries

To applause, the Chancellor defended the German government’s decision to supply German arms to Ukraine. “There could be no other answer to Putin’s aggression,” he said. “We will not rest until peace is secured in Europe.”

On Saturday evening it became known that Germany wants to deliver defensive weapons to Ukraine. These are 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 “Stinger” surface-to-air missiles. This is a fundamental change of direction by the federal government, which had previously always ruled out arms deliveries. Recently, however, the pressure from other NATO countries on Berlin on this issue had increased.

War becomes “disaster for Russia”

Scholz went on to say that Putin would not change course overnight. But very soon the Russian leadership will feel the high price it has to pay. The war is a catastrophe for Ukraine, but it will also prove to be a catastrophe for Russia, Scholz said, referring to the sanctions imposed on Russia by numerous countries. These include the partial exclusion of Russia from the banking communication system SWIFT.

Here, too, the federal government had only completed a U-turn on Saturday evening after much hesitation and had moved away from its rejection of the punitive measure. Germany thus joined the USA, France, Canada, Italy, Great Britain and the EU Commission.

“As much diplomacy as possible without being naive”

In his government statement, Scholz also addressed the future direction of German foreign policy. The claim remains: “As much diplomacy as possible without being naive.” But not being naïve also means: “Don’t talk for the sake of talking.” A real dialogue requires the willingness to do so – on both sides. Putin obviously lacks that. At the same time, Scholz emphasized: “We will not refuse talks with Russia.” Even in extreme situations, it is the task of diplomacy to keep channels of communication open. Anything else is irresponsible.

At the same time, Scholz announced a significant rearmament of Germany. According to the will of the Federal Government, the Bundeswehr is to be equipped with a so-called special fund of 100 billion euros. In the future, annual spending on defense should amount to more than two percent of gross domestic product.

Support for protests in Russia

The Chancellor also addressed Russian civil society. Germany stands “on the side of all those in Russia who bravely stand up to Putin’s power apparatus and reject his war against Ukraine,” said Scholz. “We know there are many of you. I say to all of them: Don’t give up!” He is “quite sure” that freedom, tolerance and human rights will prevail in Russia.

Scholz paid tribute to all people in Russia who are protesting against Putin’s actions. “It takes great courage and true bravery.” These people would have “accepted arrest and punishment”. Many members of the Bundestag then rose from their seats and applauded.

Merz calls Putin a “war criminal”

After Scholz’s speech, opposition leader Friedrich Merz spoke. Putin has exposed himself as a “war criminal”. NATO has never threatened Putin and Russia, and the Russian President knows that too. The only threat to Putin and his system is his own people, the people’s striving for freedom and democracy.

The AfD parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel, on the other hand, gave the West some responsibility for Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The hardliners had stuck rigidly to the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO and, in doing so, arrogantly denied Russia’s status as a great power, Weidel said in the Bundestag. “This is the historic failure of the West: Russia’s insult.” This does not change the “reprehensibility of the Russian invasion,” she added.

Left: “We misjudged Putin”

Left parliamentary group leader Amira Mohamed Ali supported the federal government in assessing the Russian attack. Your group shares the view that Russia is responsible for a war of aggression that violates international law. “There is nothing to relativize this Russian attack, nothing to justify it.” She admitted “that we misjudged the intentions of the Russian government”. The great power fantasies of Kremlin chief Putin “must not become reality,” said the deputy.

However, Mohamed Ali doubted that the sanctions against Russia’s oligarchs would be sufficient. The rich and powerful have long had ways to circumvent them. The left strictly rejects the announced massive increase in defense spending. “We on the left cannot and will not support this armament, this militarization,” said Mohamed Ali.

Visiting Ukrainian Ambassador

The Chancellor himself had asked for the special session of Parliament. The Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk followed the debate from the visitors’ gallery. The deputies greeted him with applause that lasted for several minutes. The Ukrainian flag waved in front of the Reichstag building.