The difficult mission of Olaf Solz to Ukraine

What does Chancellor Soltz say during his visit to Kyiv? Maybe not enough for the Ukrainians, who are demanding more heavy weapons, but also EU membership.

No official announcements were made in Berlin. The confirmation of Chancellor Olaf Solz’s trip to Ukraine came on Thursday morning, when the first photos of Olaf Solz with French President Emanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on the train to Kyiv and then on the railway station were released. capital. Shortly after the arrival of the three leaders, an anti-aircraft alarm was sounded. For security reasons all three retired to their hotel and their schedule of contacts in Kyiv is delayed. However, early Thursday afternoon, television footage was released of the three leaders touring the Irpin suburb of Kiev and seeing with their own eyes the devastation caused by the war. With them was the President of Romania, Klaus Johannes, who arrived in Kyiv by another route, as well as Ukrainian officials.

A meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not even been officially announced, apparently for security reasons, but it is speculated that it will take place later in the afternoon. What is certain is that the joint presence of leaders from the three largest EU countries in Kyiv is another sign of European unity, but also of solidarity with the tried and tested people of Ukraine, who, however, expect more than symbolism. In recent days, President Zelensky himself and Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk have been categorically calling for EU membership, expecting European leaders to grant Ukraine “candidate status” at the upcoming summit. June 23.

“The evolution of the war was visible“

110 days have passed since the start of the war in Ukraine, until the appearance of the chancellor in Kyiv. Every now and then, the Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin, Andriy Melnik, reiterated his call for the German government to send “heavy weapons” and said that “Olaf Solz should not come to Kyiv empty-handed.” Are Ukraine’s demands being met now? Probably not, says historian J Χrg Himmelreich in an article on Deutsche Welle’s German website. This is because, as he recalls, “the state-of-the-art and urgently needed Iris-T SLM air defense system, which he promised on June 1, will finally be delivered in a few months, while on Tuesday it was announced that only three will be sent instead of four multi-launchers Mars II missiles “. Three more Mars launchers will be provided to Ukraine by Great Britain, while the USA will send four. In Berlin, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht argues that there is no other margin. “With this surrender of weapons, I have reached the limits of what I can do, so that our country’s defense and our obligations to the Atlantic Alliance are not endangered,” the minister said.

Training of Ukrainians in the use of the Mars II launcher is expected to begin in June. With this weapon the Ukrainians will be able to effectively hit targets at a distance of 80 km. So far, Germany has sent anti-aircraft missiles, mines, automatic weapons and ammunition to Ukraine. But the Ukrainians have also demanded heavy weapons. In Berlin his extradition has been approved in principle, but his mission is delayed. These include PzH 2000 armored artillery shells, Iris-T air defense systems, as well as advanced Cobra anti-artillery radars. Speaking on German First Channel (ARD), Christian Moling, an analyst at the German Foreign Policy Association (DGAP), said the delays could have been avoided. “I think one could have predicted, as early as mid-March, that this war would turn into an ‘artillery war’ like the one we see today,” he said. “With these data, decisions on the necessary supplies could be made earlier and crew training could begin earlier.”

Will Zelensky negotiate with the Kremlin?

In addition to armaments, it is certain that the “next day” of the war will be discussed in Kyiv, with the French president raising the issue of direct negotiations between Ukrainian President Zelensky and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Where, when and under what conditions it remains unknown. Some see the presence of Romanian President Johannes as a sign that alternatives to transporting grain from Ukraine to the West will be discussed. As for the issue of EU membership, it is taken for granted that Italy supports the request for immediate “candidate status” in Ukraine, while France and Germany have reservations. The same applies to other Member States, such as the Netherlands, Denmark and Portugal. The formal (but non-binding) position of the Commission on the application for membership submitted by Ukraine is expected on Friday.

Giannis Papadimitriou (DW, ARD, DPA, AFP)

Source: Deutsche Welle