German leader Scholz vows more Ukraine aid and defends his phone call
with Putin
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[December 03, 2024]
By HANNA ARHIROVA and BARRY HATTON
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Ukraine for
the first time in more than two years Monday and vowed to keep
supporting Kyiv in the war, just weeks after Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy rebuked him for having a phone call with Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
The conflict is approaching a pivotal new phase, with the new U.S.
administration of Donald Trump taking office next month and potentially
determining the trajectory of the war after the president-elect’s pledge
to end the fighting, with few details.
Ukraine is sensitive to whether cracks might be appearing in the unity
of its Western allies behind helping it against Russia, as Putin banks
on outlasting that commitment. Germany is Ukraine’s second-largest
military backer after the United States.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby emphasized Monday
that the Biden administration’s job is to put Ukraine in the best
position of strength to give Zelenskyy leverage when negotiations begin.
He underlined that it’s Zelenskyy “who gets to decide if and when he’s
ready to negotiate, and he gets to decide what if anything he’s willing
to negotiate.”
With the war soon to enter its fourth year, Zelenskyy said he disagreed
with Scholz’s call with Putin. Zelenskyy said it could prompt phone
calls with other leaders, possibly reducing Putin’s international
isolation and legitimizing his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Scholz defended the call, saying he wanted to remind Putin that Ukraine
is a sovereign and independent state that should be able to decide its
own future. He also stressed that he conveyed to Putin that Ukraine is
not alone and that its partners will continue their support.
Germany is a vociferous supporter of Ukraine, but Scholz has refused to
budge on two of Zelenskyy’s key requests: supplying German- and
Swedish-made Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine and inviting it to
join NATO quickly.
Scholz, who faces an early election in February, has cast his refusal to
send Taurus missiles as part of a “prudent” approach to the conflict
that assures Ukraine of strong support without taking the risk of the
war escalating into a conflict between NATO and Russia.
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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and German
Chancellor Olaf Scholz attend a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine,
Monday, Dec.2, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

“This doesn’t lessen our support, which is very wide-ranging and –
it is important for me to say – will remain wide-ranging,” Scholz
said in Kyiv.
In a major shift, Zelenskyy signaled Friday that an an offer of NATO
membership to territory under Kyiv’s control could end “the hot
stage of the war” in Ukraine.
Some Western nations granted permission in November for Kyiv to
carry out long-range strikes with the weapons they have supplied.
Following the decision, Putin said Russia launched a strike on
Ukraine with an unstoppable intermediate-range ballistic missile
dubbed the Oreshnik that he claimed can't be intercepted.
It marked the first time that such a missile was used in the war or
in any other conflict.
Scholz has been cautious about talk of fast-tracking NATO membership
for Ukraine. He has emphasized the importance of finding a path to
peace, which he insists must not be chosen over Ukraine's head.
Germany, a leader in providing Ukraine with air defense systems, has
already supplied five IRIS-T systems, three Patriot systems and over
50 Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, Scholz said. Another
batch of military aid being delivered this month will include
another IRIS-T system and more Gepards, he added. More material is
to follow in 2025.
Russia has kept up a barrage of civilian areas of Ukraine and its
power grid. In recent months, Russia launched 347 missiles of
various types against Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.
He pleaded for more Western air defense systems, adding that around
20 critical objects are not protected. He didn’t elaborate.
___
Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. Geir Moulson in Berlin and
Colleen Long in Washington contributed.
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