Kyiv calls for an energy embargo
Scholz and Zelenskyj talk about “anti-Russian sanctions”
4/10/2022, 4:26 p.m
Once again Chancellor Scholz assured the Ukrainian President Zelenskyj of Germany’s full support. Everything will be done to solve Russian war crimes. However, the appeals from Kyiv to impose stricter penalties have so far gone unheeded.
In a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned “the heinous war crimes committed by the Russian military” in the Kiev suburb of Bucha and elsewhere in Ukraine. Deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann announced that he had expressed solidarity and full support from Germany to the people of Ukraine.
The federal government, together with its international partners, will do everything in its power to ensure that the crimes are ruthlessly cleared up and the perpetrators identified so that they can be held accountable before national and international courts, it said. Zelenskyj wrote on Twitter that he also spoke to Scholz about “anti-Russian sanctions, defense and financial support for Ukraine”.
Former world boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko is also urgently asking for help from Germany. Addressing Ukrainians in Germany and German supporters, Klitschko, whose brother Vitali is the mayor of Kyiv, said: “Everybody put pressure on the German government. We need an embargo on oil and gas from Russia now. We need more weapons now. Here in every hour counts in Ukraine, every minute.”
Moscow: Sanctions do not lead to a change of course
In the video message to the participants of a solidarity event “Lighthouse Ukraine” in Berlin, Klitschko particularly emphasized the word “now”. He further said: “It is so important that you carry on. That you help that the people affected by this brutal war are not forgotten.” About a week ago, Klitschko met Chancellor Scholz and several ministers. In an emotional video message, he thanked the Germans and their government for their help in defending against the Russian invasion of his Ukrainian homeland.
Russian troops invaded Ukraine a good six weeks ago. After the visit of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Saturday in Kyiv, Zelenskyy called for greater pressure from the West on Russia. He also reiterated his call for a ban on imports of oil from Russia. Russia is said to lose billions in revenue from the sale of oil and no longer be able to finance its war. Moscow, on the other hand, points to high reserves and emphasizes that sanctions have not led to a change in political course.