The head of the naval forces (Navy) of Germany, Vice Admiral Kai-Achim Schönbach, resigned after saying that Crimea would never return to Ukraine. This is stated in a statement by Schönbach, which is quoted by the press service of the High Command of Germany on Saturday, January 22.
On January 21, Schönbach expressed his opinion about the irreversibility of the fact that Crimea belongs to Russia.
“I have just asked the federal secretary of defense to immediately release me from my duties and duties as an inspector of the navy. Thoughtless comments made by me in India on security and military policy are increasingly falling on my office, ”quotes Vice Admiral press office Navy.
It is specified that at an emergency meeting, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht discussed Schönbach’s statement with Bundeswehr Inspector General Eberhard Zorn. As a result, Lambrecht accepted the resignation of the head of the Navy.
As reported by the German media, Schönbach’s statements irritated the Ministry of Defense and the German Foreign Ministry.
In addition, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry demanded that the German government publicly refute Schönbach’s statements. As a result, the German Ministry of Defense expressed disagreement with the statements of the commander of the country’s Navy.
In turn, Russian Senator Alexei Pushkov said that this resignation of the head of the German Navy is an example of unacceptable thinking for a general or a “correct” politician from a NATO country. He noted that Schönbach went beyond the “red line”, and paid the price for this.
Crimea returned to the Russian Federation following the results of the 2014 referendum. 96.77% of the inhabitants of the region and 95.6% of the voters of Sevastopol voted for joining. The leadership of the Russian Federation has repeatedly stated that the inhabitants of Crimea democratically voted for reunification in full accordance with international law and the question of the peninsula’s ownership is finally closed.
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