Ukraine's envoy to Germany refuses to apologize for his remarks on Chancellor Olaf Scholz

Days after calling German Chancellor Olaf Scholz an 'offended sausage,' the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany has refused to apologize for this comment. "It's not about apologizing, it's about making the right policy these days," Ambassador Andriy Melnyk said, Spiegel - the German news magazine reported. Earlier on May 3, the Ukrainian ambassador had condemned Chancellor Olaf Scholz over his remark that he would not visit the war-torn country, because Kyiv refused to invite German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier due to his alleged close ties with Russia. 

"Playing an insulted liver sausage doesn't sound very statesmanlike," Melnyk had told the DPA news agency, as per German website Merkur.de. Chastising the German Chancellor further, Melnyk outlined "this is about the most brutal war of extermination since the Nazi invasion of Ukraine, it’s not kindergarten." Earlier Scholz had indicated his dissatisfaction with the Kyiv regime's refusal to invite the German President.

Germany decides to send self-propelled howitzer artillery systems to Ukraine

Notably, German President Steinmeier was slated to visit Kyiv in mid-April with his Baltic and Polish counterparts to express his support for the war-torn country. However, Ukraine had reportedly refused to welcome the German President, citing his strong ties to the Kremlin as the basis for his exclusion. Meanwhile, several political observers and German policymakers have accused the Ukrainian ambassador of continuously interfering in German domestic matters by criticising the administration, Euractiv reported. Meanwhile, in the latest development, the German government has decided to send seven self-propelled howitzer artillery systems to Ukraine. This comes as the Ukrainian leadership has often accused Germany of "not doing enough to assist in its defence against Russia."

Russia-Ukraine war

As the brutal war between Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate unabated, the Ukrainian Army General Staff claimed that its forces repealed 11 attacks in the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republic. It also claimed that the Ukrainian armed forces destroyed eight tanks, eleven units of armoured combat vehicles, and five other vehicles. Meanwhile, Russia has reportedly unleashed artillery barrages in Ukraine's southern and eastern regions. The Ukrainian troops claimed that invaders have entered the labyrinthine industrial area, however, the Kremlin has denied any such involvement. 

Image: AP/Twitter/@MelnykAndrij