Wolodymyr Selenskyj ended up in Berlin to meet Merz

After visiting Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) in Kiev two and a half weeks ago, the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj will be a guest in Berlin on Wednesday, where he advises with the Chancellor about paths for a possible ceasefire with Russia. Merz received his guest with military honor at noon, then the two politicians withdrew for a conversation in the Chancellery. In the afternoon, Selenskyj is welcomed by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The visit takes place in the middle of a newly spoken debate about the possible delivery of Taurus marching aircraft.

According to the Federal Government, German support for Kiev and a possible ceasefire with Russia are primarily on the agenda of the conversation between Merz and Selenskyj. Selenskyj and Merz want to comment on the results of the interview at 1.30 p.m. in front of the press.

On Monday, Merz had rejected the discussion about a possible delivery of Taurus marching skypots that could fly over 500 kilometers on Monday that there was “no longer any reach restrictions” for weapons delivered to Ukraine. Merz referred to corresponding agreements with European allies and the USA. Before taking office as Chancellor, Merz had clearly spoken out for a Taurus delivery to Ukraine.

The CDU foreign politician Roderich Kiesewetter asked the federal government in advance of the Selenskyj visit to focus on extensive weapons systems for Ukraine. It is now “the highest time to finally train to Taurus and to deliver the system,” he told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. The chair of the Committee for Security and Defense in the European Parliament, Marie-Egnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), welcomed Merz ‘Regewaiten decision to be “overdue”.

Union faction leader Jens Spahn (CDU) said in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin” that Germany supports Ukraine “with everything it needs and what she receives can also use it accordingly”. Spahn did not comment on concrete weapon systems like Taurus on request. The chairman of the CSU national group in the Bundestag, Alexander Hoffmann, held back to Ukraine to the delivery of Taurus marching sky bodies. “I don’t think we have these strategic discussions in public,” he told the broadcaster RTL and NTV.

Chancellor’s head Thorsten Frei (CDU) also criticized the public taurus discussion. “Unfortunately, this is debated publicly,” he told the broadcaster World TV. The Federal Government announced in the middle of the month to want to report significantly less detailed to Ukraine about German arms deliveries in the future. It is Merz’s wish to “discuss less about individual weapons systems”.

In mid -May, the Chancellor also announced that he wanted to make the Bundeswehr “conventionally the strongest army in Europe”. With a view to Moscow, he emphasized: “Anyone seriously believes that Russia would be satisfied with a victory over Ukraine or the annexation of parts of the country.”

These upgrade plans were criticized on Wednesday by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lawrow. Merz ‘statements are “very worrying,” he said to journalists in Moscow. In the past century, Germany had already been the leading military power in Europe twice, Lavrow said with reference to the First and Second World War. This had a lot of misfortune.

Moscow is exposed to increasing pressure from the European Allies to finally start serious negotiations with Kiev about a ceasefire. US President Donald Trump, the Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin initially equated, obviously loses patience: Putin “plays with the fire”, Trump wrote on Tuesday on his online platform Truth Social.

“Putin does not understand that without me, many really bad things with Russia would have happened,” said Trump. And he my “really bad” things, added Trump in capital letters. It remained unclear whether Trump wants to tighten the US sanctions against Russia or consider other means.

As a demonstrative sign of solidarity, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), France’s President Emmanuel Macron and the heads of government of Great Britain and Poland, Keir Strander and Donald Tusk, visited Kiev together on May 10. Together with Selenskyj, they had asked Russia to form an unconditional, 30-day ceasefire. Otherwise, the western allies threatened new sanctions. Despite the massive pressure, Moscow did not stop.