Of all the problems that concern the German government at the moment, the biggest challenge is Russia’s war against Ukraine. On August 11, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced this on his return from vacation at a press conference in Berlin.

The war that Russia started against Ukraine, Scholz called “terrible” and demanding great efforts from Germany to help Ukraine “in its struggle for independence”. The chancellor recalled the radical rejection of the old German course of not supplying weapons to the crisis regions of the world and the recent transfer of modern German military equipment, including heavy equipment, to the Ukrainian army, which he described as “very effective.”

Scholz: Russia thinks in terms of past centuries

According to the head of the German government, “Russia thinks about the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, follows an imperial policy and considers it possible to attack a neighboring country and take part of its territory”. But unlike US President Joe Biden, the German chancellor refrains from calling Vladimir Putin himself a war criminal.

Responding to a relevant question from a DW correspondent, Scholz said that “this is a criminal war, there is no doubt about it”. He recalled his visit to Ukraine and the facts of war crimes committed by Russian soldiers. “We must take every step,” Scholz said, “to investigate them.” As for Putin himself, the Chancellor added: “The Russian president is responsible for this war, he has decided to start it, and it is a terrible and unacceptable war that violates all the rules that we have agreed to.”