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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has challenged German leader Olaf Scholz to visit Kyiv on May 9 in a symbolic show of unity with Ukraine on the day it commemorates the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
Mr Zelenskyy said such a visit would send a powerful political message as the two countries try to repair a relationship damaged by disputes over weapons, sanctions and diplomatic protocol since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Western and Ukrainian officials have for weeks had their eye on Monday’s anniversary, remembered as Victory Day in the former Soviet Union, because they suspect Russia will want to claim some sort of victory by the time of a prestigious Moscow parade in the presence of President Vladimir Putin.
But Mr Zelenskyy, in an address to British think tank Chatham House, called on Mr Scholz to give the date an extra significance by righting what Ukraine sees as recent as well as historical German wrongs.
“He can make this very powerful political step to come here on May 9, to Kyiv,” said Mr Zelenskyy, responding to The National’s question about relations with Germany.
“I am not explaining the significance. I think you are cultured enough to understand why. Sometimes in history we have to make certain steps for unity, even if there is some kind of coldness in specific relations.”
Mr Scholz has not revealed any plans to visit Kyiv, and his office said it had no new diary announcements for Monday. Leaders on a pilgrimage to Mr Zelenskyy’s bunker have typically kept their itineraries under wraps while Russian missiles continue to hit the city.
The German chancellor has been planning to mark the occasion with a televised address to the nation on the evening of May 8, the day Germany and western countries commemorate the end of the Second World War in Europe.
Previewing his speech, a spokeswoman said Mr Scholz would address the fact that a day that is meant to represent Germany's post-war mantra of “never again” now coincides with a brutal war between two countries that were tormented back then.
A western official on Friday expressed scepticism that Mr Putin would use the Moscow parade to call for a mass mobilisation, as one British minister has suggested, in what would mark a shift away from the Kremlin's description of the invasion as a "special military operation".
"If you needed that countrywide, that would wake people up," the official said. "The people who may be prepared to go and protest the war because they know that the cost of that is very high and they definitely don’t want their children to go fight for it."
Mr Scholz has invoked the threat of another world war - stirring memories of the brutal German war with Russia being commemorated on May 8 and 9 - to justify his relatively cautious approach to the crisis, saying he is not willing to risk an escalation into a nuclear-armed conflict.
But Ukraine has long accused Germany of learning the wrong lessons from its past by seeking to appease Russia and has made no secret of its frustration at Berlin over what it sees as slow progress on weapons deliveries and sanctions.
Diplomatic spat
That discord boiled over when German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who in two terms as foreign minister was one of the faces of Germany’s conciliatory posture towards Moscow, said he had scrapped plans to visit Kyiv after learning he was not welcome.
Although Mr Zelenskyy’s camp sought to play down the row by saying Ukraine wanted to see the decision-making Mr Scholz rather than the figurehead Mr Steinmeier, the incident was taken as a snub in the German chancellery.
Mr Scholz, who only this week declared the non-invitation a “problem for the German government and the German people”, was further criticised when opposition leader Friedrich Merz made it to Kyiv before him.
But the two sides sought to put the dispute behind them on Thursday when Mr Steinmeier spoke to Mr Zelenskyy by phone, in a call which ended with both president and chancellor being invited to Ukraine.
Mr Zelenskyy repeated that invitation on Friday. “Ukraine is open,” he said. “Especially in this war, we have no doors to open. We’re just open. You can come any time.”
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Family members mourn at the graveside of soldier Yuri Varyanytsia during the burial of three soldiers in the Field of Mars at Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A pedestrian takes a picture as she walks past the wreckage of a Russian armoured vehicle outside the National Museum of Military History of Ukraine in Kyiv. AFP -
A man rides his bicycle over a heavily damaged bridge near Pechenegi village in the Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP -
Pro-Russian troops fire from a tank near the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Reuters -
Workers sew uniforms and material for flack jackets at a military clothing factory in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A dog provides company at a flat damaged by a missile attack in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
Patron, a dog trained by Ukrainian forces to sniff out explosives, near Kyiv. EPA -
Lone skater Roman Kovalenko, 18, amid the damage at Peace Square in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. All of his friends have fled. AFP -
A Ukrainian sapper carries unexploded materiel during demining works at an airport in the town of Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. AFP -
Shelling of the Azovstal steel plant complex in Mariupol. Reuters -
Violinist Irene Duval rehearses before a fundraiser to support Ukrainians arriving in the UK, at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London. PA -
A serviceman stands guard at the destroyed Ukrainian Antonov An-225 'Mriya' cargo aircraft in Hostomel. AFP -
Galina Malets falls to her knees before the funeral service for her brother, fallen soldier Igor Malets, 59, in Lviv. Getty -
Explosions at the Azovstal steel plant in besieged Mariupol, where Ukrainian forces continue to hold out against Russian invaders. AFP -
A Ukrainian woman collects her belongings after her apartment was damaged by a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
An apartment block damaged by a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
Devastation around an apartment block hit by a missile in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
Ukrainian men at the site of a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
An elderly refugee from Avdiivka, eastern Ukraine, at a lunch provided by church group Awakening in Pokrovsk. AFP -
Natalia Rudneva, 59, was injured in overnight shelling in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, that put her son in hospital. AP -
Shocked occupants of an apartment building in Kramatorsk, Donbas, that was destroyed by overnight shelling . AP -
A man outside his house in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine. The sign reads 'Bomb shelter, children'. AP -
A woman passes Donetsk People's Republic militia tanks in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine. AP -
A refugee camp outside Mariupol, in territory controlled by the government of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic. AP -
The damaged St Godmothers Cover Church next to a bullet-riddled Ukrainian flag in Malyn, Ukraine. Getty Images -
St Godmothers Cover Church, in Malyn, Ukraine. Getty Images -
The ruins of an apartment building in Borodianka, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Firefighters from the self-declared Donetsk People Republic Emergency Situations Ministry battle a blaze at an oil depot after missiles struck the facility in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Makiivka, 15 kilometres east of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. AP -
People wait for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to begin a speech televised on a screen in City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark. Reuters -
An aerial view of the destroyed Hotel Ukraine in the northern city of Chernigiv. AFP -
A woman who recently lost her husband arrives with her dog at a charity centre in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
A family of Ukrainian evacuees near a donation collection point in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Reuters -
The ruins of a residential building in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv, which was heavily damaged during the Russian invasion. AFP -
People pay their respects during the funeral for Ukrainian serviceman Ruslan Borovyk in St Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv. AP -
Crew chiefs and engineers with the 158th Fighter Wing meet before launching F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation aircraft at the Vermont Air National Guard Base, South Burlington, US. More than 200 Vermont air guard personnel, plus equipment and eight F-35s, are now in Europe. AP -
Svitlana, 36, holds her sons Artem, 7, and Kyrylo, 5, while sheltering in a kindergarten in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Men report to enlist in Ukrainian Territorial Defence Force units in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A burning oil storage unit on the outskirts of Donetsk, Ukraine. Reuters -
Russian MiG-29SMT jet fighters, forming the symbol Z in support of Russian military action in Ukraine, fly over Red Square in Moscow during a rehearsal for the Second World War Victory Parade on May 9, 2022. AFP -
A warehouse after shelling in Severodonetsk, as fighting rages across Ukraine's east after a US warning that Moscow is preparing to formally annex eastern regions. AFP -
Katya, 11, waits for her mother's treatment to end at the Severodonetsk Hospital in Severodonetsk. AFP -
Antonina, 60, at a funeral home where she works and now lives with neighbours in Severodonetsk. AFP -
A Russian serviceman patrols a street near the sea port of Berdyansk, Ukraine. AFP -
A woman during the rally in front of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office in Kyiv. AFP -
Svitlana Karpenko, 53, at what is left of her house in Sloboda, Chernihiv region, Ukraine. She said it was destroyed by shelling. Reuters -
The turret from a destroyed Russian tank stuck in the ground in Zalissia, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Lyubov Lenko, 61, in front of her house in Budy, Chernihiv region, Ukraine, that she says was destroyed by shelling. Reuters -
Nina Stefuryak, 2, playing in a park in front of a building destroyed by shelling in Borodianka, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Mealtime at a centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia. AP -
Volunteers assist a man after his arrival from Mariupol at a centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia. AP -
People disembark a van to be registered by police after arriving in Zaporizhzhia. Getty Images -
Firefighters damp down the ashes of a fire that destroyed a children's play area in Gorky Park in Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA -
A woman touches a piano as she inspects the damage in a classroom after shelling at Kharkiv National Kotlyarevsky University of Arts. EPA -
US President Joe Biden and Lockheed Martin chief executive Jim Taiclet with Javelin anti-tank missile assembly workers during a tour of a Lockheed Martin weapons factory in Troy, Alabama, US. Reuters -
Residents collect humanitarian aid in Borodyanka, Ukraine. Getty Images
The detente comes as Germany steps up military support for Ukraine and seeks to shake off accusations that as Europe’s richest country it is failing to pull its weight in a conflict which is now in its eleventh week.
Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht on Friday announced that Germany would send seven PzH 2000 howitzers to Ukraine, more than the consignment of five German-made models offered by the Netherlands.
Ukrainian gunners will be trained in using the howitzers at an artillery school in Germany, officials have said, shrugging off concerns that such instruction could take Nato out of the safety of non-combatant status.
Ms Lambrecht had last week announced that Ukraine would receive a stock of Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, which came into service in 1970s West Germany and can hit airborne targets at an altitude of up to 5,500 metres.
It was the first delivery of what Germany refers to as heavy weapons after pressure from politicians, egged on by Ukraine’s ambassador in Berlin, culminated in MPs passing a motion calling for such arms to be sent.
Lagging behind allies in some measures of military support, Germany has insisted it is acting in harmony with fellow Nato powers and that its economic might is paying for Ukraine to order the weapons it wants.
But ministers have said they cannot hand over as much gear as they would like because years of underinvestment have left it with limited stocks and because advanced Nato equipment needs more training than the Soviet-era hardware more familiar to Ukrainian troops.
Germany has also celebrated progress in cutting its reliance on Russian oil from 35 per cent of its needs to 12 per cent, allowing it to support a European embargo which Ukraine urgently supports but Berlin had previously stalled.
The high rate of reliance on Russia, although not unusual among European Union member states, has led to further criticism of the Kremlin-friendly policies of Mr Scholz’s predecessor Angela Merkel and especially of previous chancellor turned Russian gas lobbyist Gerhard Schroeder.
Mr Zelenskyy said on Friday that he opposed calls from some landlocked Eastern European countries for a grace period of several years to phase out imports via Russian oil pipelines.
While several countries including Hungary fear the economic consequences of a ban when fuel prices are already high, other EU members such as Poland say the continued cash flows are empowering Moscow financially and politically.
“You cannot be slightly evil and slightly good – with the right hand you impose sanctions, with the left hand you sign Russian contracts,” Mr Zelenskyy said. “The sanctions should be so effective that we will never have to revisit them.”
