Ukraine war
Selenskyj invites Scholz to Kyiv for May 9th
Olaf Scholz received an invitation from Volodymyr Zelenskyj. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
On May 9, Russia celebrates “Victory Day” with a large military parade. Volodymyr Zelenskyy would like to welcome the chancellor in Kyiv on May 9th.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has invited Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Kyiv. Scholz could take a “very strong political step” and come to the Ukrainian capital on May 9, Zelensky said at an event hosted by the London think tank Chatham House.
The invitation has been there for a while. On the same day, Russia wants to celebrate “Victory Day” with a military parade, which traditionally commemorates the victory of the Soviet army over Hitler’s Germany.
Scholz already has appointments on May 9th
When asked, a spokesman for the federal government referred to Scholz’s already known appointments in the coming days, including the inaugural visit of French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday. «The day before, the Federal Chancellor, his G7 colleagues and the Ukrainian President will discuss the situation in Ukraine in a video link on the historic anniversary of the end of the World War. I don’t have any other short-term appointments to tell you at the moment,” said the spokesman.
The federal government announced on Thursday that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock would first travel to Kyiv. Relations between Kyiv and Berlin had been tense for weeks because a visit by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to Kyiv was undesirable. Steinmeier and Selenskyj cleared up these irritations in a telephone call on Thursday.
Selenskyj criticizes again
When asked whether he was satisfied with the support from the EU – especially from Germany – Zelenskyj again expressed criticism during his online appearance in London. “You can’t be a little good and a little bad,” he said. On the one hand, sanctions would be imposed, but at the same time contracts with Russia would be signed. “That is not right. That’s hypocrisy.”
In an interview with the BBC, Zelenskyy also commented on his minimum requirements for successful negotiations with Moscow: For this to happen, the Russians would have to withdraw to their position of February 23 – i.e. before the outbreak of war. That requires diplomacy. “From our side, not all diplomatic bridges have burned down,” said the head of government.