In an interview with German broadcaster ZDF, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for unequivocal support ahead of a possible visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“We need Chancellor Scholz to assure us that Germany will support Ukraine. He and his government have to make a decision,” Selenskyj said last night in the “heute journal”. Germany should not attempt a balancing act between Ukraine and relations with Russia.
Zelenskyi said he would like the German chancellor to personally support Ukraine’s EU membership. He expects the European Union to grant his country candidate country status in June.
Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi could visit Ukraine in the middle of the week. An official date is still pending. Relations between Berlin and Kyiv had cooled off considerably at the beginning of the war.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was not welcome in Ukraine because Kyiv accused him of pro-Moscow policies. Added to this was the controversy surrounding the extent and speed of Germany’s support for the attacked country.