War in Ukraine: German tank deliveries to the war zone are taking shape. Economics Minister Habeck indicates sympathy for cooperation with Spain. All developments in the news ticker.
- Roth visited Odesa: According to the Minister of State for Culture, Russia is also threatening the culture of Ukraine.
- Chancellor in Lithuania: Olaf Scholz wants to visit German soldiers on NATO’s eastern flank.
- German tanks for the Ukraine: Habeck indicates approval for Spanish delivery
- This News ticker on the reactions from Germany to the Ukraine war is updated regularly.
Update from June 7th, 5 p.m.: Economics Minister Robert Habeck has shown sympathy for Spain’s approval of exporting German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine. The Green politician said on Tuesday during a visit to Ramallah in Palestine that the Spanish government had not yet made a decision when he left on Monday.
Spain had bought the tanks in Germany. With a so-called end-use clause, Germany has – as is usual with such armaments deals – secured a proviso for the transfer to third parties, so that the federal government now has to agree. The body responsible for this is the Federal Security Council, which meets in one session or can also use the so-called circulation procedure to reach a consensus.
So far, such a permit has also been granted, for example for howitzers from old GDR stocks, the transfer of which to the Ukraine had been approved by the Estonian government. “I can’t anticipate the exam now. But the official route is clear. And I believe that Ukraine needs to be supported during this difficult time,” Habeck said.
War in Ukraine: Chancellor Scholz visits NATO’s eastern flank
Update from June 7, 1 p.m.: Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits NATO’s eastern flank in the midst of the Ukraine war. During his visit to Lithuania, he pledged more arms supplies to Ukraine but avoided saying that Russia must “lose” the war or that Ukraine must “win”.
FDP and Union are putting pressure on the federal government – “Approve the delivery of Leopards quickly”
Update from June 7, 12:20 p.m.: According to a report, Spain wants to deliver around 40 used Leopard tanks to Ukraine – the Union and FDP are now demanding the go-ahead from the federal government. “I very much hope that Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck will immediately grant approval for the export,” said FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmerman mirror. “We have no time for debates,” said the FDP politician. In view of the Russian artillery attacks on Ukrainian targets, “urgency is required”.
Union faction Vice Johann Wadephul (CDU) made a similar statement. He told the newspaper World: “Germany abandons Ukraine every day that no heavy weapons arrive there.” He added: “If Spain wants to deliver Leopard 2, the federal government must make it possible quickly.” Situation recognized more clearly than in Berlin – a devastating realization,” said the CDU politician. Ukraine threatens to lose the Donbass battle. “It’s about the lives of innocent people, but also about defending Europe against an imperial aggressor,” he stressed.
Roth on a visit to Odessa: Clear words to Putin’s Black Sea Fleet – “Fuck off!”
Update from June 6, 9:30 a.m.: During the Ukraine war, Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth visited the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, which was threatened by Russian attacks, and raged against Moscow. According to her, the country’s cultural identity is also threatened by the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. “This war is also a war against culture, against the culture of democracy,” said the Greens politician in Odessa. After more than three months of war, 375 cultural institutions have been destroyed or damaged. 137 churches are also affected.
“This makes it clear: It’s about attacking the cultural identity of Ukraine,” said Roth, who promised the country support. “We are now trying to send an international signal by supporting the nomination of Odessa’s old town as a World Heritage City,” she said on ZDFmorning magazine. The international community must take responsibility accordingly. This may also be an additional protective shield against attacks.
On her visit to Odessa, Roth decided to use clear language on the Russian side. She was given a stamp depicting a Ukrainian soldier on Snake Island in front of the silhouette of the sunken Russian warship Moskva. The soldier shows the ship the middle finger. In Ukraine, the insult stamp has become a collector’s item. “Fuck off, Black Sea Fleet,” Roth summarized the scene.
Ukraine war: Roth visits Odessa – Green politician receives famous Moskva stamp as a gift
Update from June 6, 9:09 p.m: Claudia Roth is known for her direct manner, emphasizes a dpa correspondent. The Greens politician traveled to Odessa and received two stamps there. A gift from the Ukrainian Minister of Culture Olexandr Tkachenko to his German colleague.
One stamp showed a soldier on land, with the silhouette of the sunken warship Moskva in the background. In the second variant, the ship has disappeared. The soldier puts up a middle finger. “Fuck off, Black Sea Fleet!” Roth translates the symbolism – to the delight of Tkachenko, according to the dpa report.
German tanks in the Ukraine war? According to the report, Spain wants to deliver “Leopard”.
Update from June 6, 6:22 p.m: First modern western tanks for Ukraine? The Spanish government under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has so far mainly supplied light weapons, ammunition and protective equipment in the escalating Ukraine conflict. According to a newspaper report, that is now changing.
According to her, she wants German Leopard 2 A4 battle tanks and anti-aircraft missiles El País send. In Germany, politicians from Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ SPD had previously emphasized that there was an “informal agreement” between the NATO countries not to supply such weapons. Either picture and Southgerman newspaper point out that the Spanish delivery plan could probably not take place without Scholz’ approval. The latter reports that a corresponding request from Madrid to Berlin is still pending.
The newspaper writes that these are mothballed tanks that must first be prepared for use, citing information from the Spanish Ministry of Defense. According to the dpa news agency, there was still no statement from the ministry.
El País According to the report, around 40 of the 108 Leopard tanks that Spain bought second-hand in Germany in 1995 could be made operational again.
Chancellor in Lithuania – Scholz visits soldiers on NATO’s eastern flank in the midst of the Ukraine war
Update from June 6, 6:08 p.m: For the first time since the start of the Ukraine war, Olaf Scholz has visited Lithuania, a NATO country that borders Russia and feels particularly threatened by the nuclear power. On June 7, the SPD politician will meet with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in Vilnius with the heads of government of all three Baltic states, which in addition to Lithuania also include Latvia and Estonia.
He then visits Bundeswehr soldiers who are stationed in Lithuania to secure NATO’s eastern flank, there are currently 1,000. At the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of the month, the question will be whether the troops on the alliance’s eastern flank will be increased again. Along with Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Norway, Lithuania is one of the five NATO countries that share a land border with Russia.
Ukraine war: News from Germany: Green politician Roth in Odessa
First report from June 6th: Odessa – Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) arrived in Odessa on Monday for a two-day visit. The Greens politician is the first member of the federal government to visit the port city on the Black Sea after the start of the Ukraine war.
In the midst of the Ukraine conflict, Roth is in Odessa at the invitation of the Ukrainian Minister of Culture Olexandr Tkachenko. The city has an incredible amount of culture, Roth said at the start of the trip. “We want to show that we are there,” said Roth, “we want to show how culture is being attacked.” She wants to find out in Odessa what the face of the war looks like beyond the question of heavy weapons. Offers of humanitarian aid are still rarely mentioned in the debates.
Ukraine war: Claudia Roth visits Odessa – she wants to work for humanitarian aid
Roth has already campaigned several times to support Ukrainian artists in their country and refugee artists in Germany as well as Ukrainian cultural institutions.
In Odessa she will meet, among others, the governor of Odessa Oblast, Maksym Marchenko, and the city’s mayor, Hennady Trukhanov. The Minister of State for Culture also wants to visit the Odessa Film Studio, the city’s Philharmonic Theatre, as well as the Odessa Opera, Ballet and Scientific Library.
The city is not only considered a cultural metropolis, but is also of strategic importance. Recently there have been reports of Missile attacks in the Odessa area.
War in Ukraine: Claudia Roth visits Odessa – strategically important target for Russia
In Moscow and Kyiv it is repeatedly said that Russia also aims to capture the port city in the south of the country in order to completely separate Ukraine from the Black Sea. The country would then no longer have access to the oceans.
Ukraine is one of the largest grain producers in the world. Exports via the Ukrainian seaports have come to a standstill. Russia is blocking the export of around 20 million tons of grain, most of which is in the port of Odessa.
War in Ukraine: Claudia Roth visits Odessa – Baerbock and Merz were previously in Kyiv
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) at the end of May each visited Kyiv on behalf of the Federal Cabinet. Opposition leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD) have also been to Kyiv.
Unlike several other Western heads of state and government, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has so far refrained from visiting Ukraine. This was also a reaction to the fact that the Ukrainian side initially refused a visit from Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. These upsets are considered resolved. dpa
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