German Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz held Vladimir Putin responsible for “war crimes” in Ukraine

The German head of government, Olaf Scholz, held Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible on Tuesday for the “war crimes” committed since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine remains a flagrant violation of international law. The killing of thousands of civilians we have witnessed is a war crime for which the Russian president bears responsibility,” Scholz told journalists after holding a meeting on Ukraine with the leaders of the Western powers.

“We feel immense pain for the victims and also, it must be said, great anger towards the Russian president and this senseless war,” he said.

Scholz, who is facing increasing pressure in his country to authorize the shipment of heavy weapons to Ukraine, said that a “new phase” in the conflict had begun with the new Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine. However, despite the fact that journalists repeatedly asked him about the possibility of sending tanks, fighter jets or other types of heavy weapons, Scholz was vague.

The Social Democrat reiterated that NATO would not be involved in the conflict, but said that Western allies were united in their decision to support Ukraine. Germany has already sent anti-tank weapons, surface-to-air missiles, ammunition and other defensive weapons to Ukraine.

The Scholz government has also pledged more than one billion euros in financial aid to Ukraine so that the Kiev government can buy the weapons it needs to defend itself. However, Scholz said that Germany will not “go alone” on weapons and that any decision will be taken in close cooperation with “friends and allies”.

He raised the possibility of Eastern European partners sending older Russian-made “weapons systems” to Ukraine, as Ukrainian troops would be familiar with them and could use them immediately.

He also said that Ukraine had been asked to draw up a list of weapons it needs and that could be purchased directly from the defense industry.

Scholz and his centre-left party, the SPD, have argued for weeks that sending heavy weapons would risk a spiral of escalation that could cause other countries to be attacked. But growing reports of atrocities committed against civilians in Ukraine have fueled calls for Scholz to take a tougher stance, even between his two coalition partners.

Deputy Anton Hofreiter, from the Los Verdes party, accused the chancellor of “not showing enough leadership.”

Lawmaker Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann of the liberal FDP said that Germany should not be guided by fear of escalation, because “Putin is unpredictable anyway.”

(With information from AFP)

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