The Ukraine visit came just weeks after the chancellor held a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time since 2022.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged on Dec. 2 new military aid for Ukraine during an unannounced visit to Kyiv, as he sought to reaffirm Ukraine of Germany’s support amid the ongoing war with Russia.
The visit marked his first to Kyiv in over two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said their meeting lasted more than two and a half hours.
Zelenskyy said Germany has agreed to support Ukraine “regardless of what happens in global politics or how sentiments may shift,” according to a
statement issued by the Ukrainian government.
“Germany’s leadership in helping protect our skies is particularly significant: it is Germany that has provided Ukraine with the largest amount of air defense systems,” he
said in a separate statement.
During Scholz’s visit, the two leaders inspected samples of drones co-produced by Ukrainian and German companies, and visited wounded service members and medical staff.
Scholz pledged to provide $650 million euros ($681 million) in additional military aid to Ukraine. The package, set to arrive later this month, includes IRIS-T air defense systems and Gepard anti-aircraft systems.
“Ukraine can rely on us. We say what we do. And we do what we say,” he
stated on X. “To be clear, I travelled to Kyiv last night by train through a country that has been defending itself against the Russian war of aggression for over 1,000 days.”
According to him, Germany has spent $28 billion euros ($29.3 billion) in total for Ukraine military assistance since the start of the escalation. The country will continue to deliver air defense systems, howitzers, drones, and helicopters to Ukraine next year, he said.
“I am saying this very clearly to [Russian President Vladimir Putin] here in Kyiv today: We have staying power. And we will stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary,” the chancellor
said.
The visit came just weeks after Scholz’s three-party coalition
lost its parliamentary majority on Nov. 6 amid disputes over economic policies. The chancellor is expected to hold a vote of confidence on Dec. 16, which could lead to snap elections in February.
Last month, Scholz held a
phone conversation with Putin for the first time in two years, urging the Russian leader to open negotiations with Ukraine to end the war. Zelenskyy criticized the move, saying that it could undermine efforts to isolate the Russian leader.
“Now there may be other conversations, other calls. Just a lot of words. And this is exactly what Putin has wanted for a long time: it is crucial for him to weaken his isolation,” Zelenskyy
said on Nov. 16.
The Kremlin said the call was made at Berlin’s request. Putin told Scholz that any cease-fire must take Russian security interests into account and reflect “new territorial realities,” suggesting that Moscow remains committed to earlier demands that Ukraine cede substantial amounts of its territory to Russia.
Zelenskyy has said that NATO security guarantees are necessary before any talks with Russia could occur.
Andrew Thornebrooke contributed to this report.
