German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made an unexpected visit to Kyiv on Monday, vowing his country would remain Ukraine’s biggest supporter in Europe and promising delivery this month of military aid worth $683 million.
The visit, his second since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, signals Germany’s support at a time of uncertainty ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House and as Russian forces make steady territorial gains.
Scholz will hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is set to push NATO to invite Ukraine to join the military alliance at a meeting in Brussels this week.
The visit could also offer a way for the German chancellor to try to shore up his foreign policy credentials, as he faces a tough battle for re-election at a snap vote in February after his coalition collapsed in November.
His own record on supporting Ukraine has been under scrutiny both from those who want him to do more to help Kyiv and, on the other side, from voters who want Germany to pull back from sending weapons and aid to Ukraine.
While trumpeting Germany as Ukraine’s second-biggest weapons supplier after the United States, Scholz has repeatedly refused to send the Taurus cruise missile to Ukraine, fearing this could draw his country into a direct conflict with Russia.
He also drew fire from allies, including Zelenskiy himself, for holding a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time in almost two years in November, which critics saw as targeted for domestic political gain.
“Germany will remain Ukraine’s strongest supporter in Europe,” Scholz wrote on X, adding he would announce during his meeting with Zelenskiy “further military equipment worth 650 million euros, which is to be delivered in December”. Reuters
