Olaf Scholz, German President snubbed during Poland visit amid weak Ukraine war response

Amid escalations in the Russia Ukraine war, Germany was put under pressure as Kyiv on Tuesday snubbed German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. While on a visit to Poland, Steinmeier admitted that a planned visit of his to Kyiv was not welcomed by Ukraine. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also accused of a weak response to the Ukraine crisis.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was on a visit to Poland when he admitted that his offer to visit Ukraine with other EU leaders was refused by the war-torn country. He said that Kyiv had told him he was not welcome in the country. “I was prepared to do this, but apparently, and I must take note of this, this was not wanted in Kyiv,” Steinmeier told reporters as cited by international reports.

President Steinmeier, a former foreign minister, has been facing criticism since Russia first invaded Ukraine in February. He was accused of having an eased policy toward Moscow for years. At the same German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also slammed with major criticism for his approach to supporting Ukraine in the war. Scholz was questioned by critics over his hesitancy to visit Kyiv and also provide heavy weapons to help Ukraine. Scholz and Steinmeier were targeted for their approach to Kyiv after several leaders including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen made their visits to Kyiv.

Germany says it reached a 'limit' to supplying arms to Ukraine 

It is noteworthy that Germany on Monday had announced that it reached limits and has exhausted its ability to supply weapons to Ukraine from its army reserves. German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht while speaking to the state press had said that it was coordinating with the arms industry for the deliveries. Meanwhile, Germany also informed that it will be supplying up to 50 Leopard 1 tanks and at least 60 Marder-type armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine to arm its soldiers to counter the incoming Russian assault inside the Ukrainian territories.

German manufacturer of military equipment, Rheinmetall said that it will supply Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukrainian Armed Forces by the end of 2022, Berlin’s newspaper Bild reported. Initially, the defence equipment manufacturing firm proposed to the German government a scheme through which the Marder infantry fighting vehicles could have been immediately delivered over to Ukrainian forces. But this would mean that the vehicles would have to be shipped from the available supplies of the German Armed Forces. The proposal was rejected by the German Defense Ministry. It is also worth noting that Germany had been reluctant due to "historical reasons from WWII" to send weapons to Ukraine following the Russian invasion of the country.

(With agency inputs)

Image: AP