Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees the destruction of the Kachowka dam as a “new dimension” in the Ukraine war. that is something “which fits with the way Putin is waging this war”, says Scholz at the WDR’s “Europe Forum” in Berlin. It is a development “that we are looking at with care and concern”. The Chancellor avoids clearly blaming Russia, but points to signs of Russian responsibility. Russia has “now had to experience a lot of setbacks,” said Scholz, and from something like that “always came to the conclusion that it should proceed with even more aggressive action against Ukraine.” The events surrounding the dam are something “that fits into many, many of the crimes that we saw in Ukraine that were committed by Russian soldiers.” Russia is engaged in “a warfare that has always also attacked civilian targets – cities, villages, hospitals, schools, infrastructure”.
Scholz adds: “That’s why it was so important that we support Ukraine – financially, but also with arms deliveries.” That’s why “the message remains important that we say: We will do this for as long as it is necessary so that there is not always a further escalation step”.