Chancellor Olaf Solz on Sunday dismissed criticism that Germany does not support Western efforts to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons, saying he would prefer to be careful in his decisions. Scholz is under pressure at home and abroad to help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion by supplying Kyiv with heavy weapons such as tanks and shells and backing a direct European Union embargo on Russian energy imports to oust President Vladimir Putin. currency that helps him finance the war. . “I make my decisions quickly and in consultation with our partners,” Scholz told Bild am Sonntag in an interview. “I find the hasty actions and the unchanging German efforts questionable.” On April 26, Germany announced its first delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine after weeks of pressure at home and abroad to do so amid confusion over its stance. The German government, which is also struggling to reduce its heavy dependence on imported Russian energy, has approved the delivery of Gepard tanks equipped with anti-aircraft guns. The move was supported by 55 percent of Germans, who, in a poll, said Europe’s largest economy should supply Ukraine with such weapons. However, the decision did not help to reverse the public perception that Scholz was indecisive and lacking in leadership. A poll published in Bild am Sonntag found that 54% were dissatisfied with Scholz’s handling of the crisis. His acceptance rate dropped to 32 percent, the poll showed. Critics, including Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, have accused Berlin of delaying supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine and other measures that could help Kyiv repel Russian forces, such as an embargo on Russian energy imports. They said Berlin was not showing the leadership expected of a major power, and its hesitations – amid concerns about the economic impact on Germany of a blockade of Russian gas supplies – were costing Ukrainians their lives. The Greens and the Free Democrats, the smaller partners in Scholz’s Social Democrat coalition, want more military aid to Ukraine. Scholz had to balance his demands with those of his party’s left-wing party, which says the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine risks provoking a Russian military response in a third country and sparking a wider conflict. Solz, a Social Democrat whose party has long advocated rapprochement with Russia since World War II, warned of the danger of Moscow perceiving Germany as a party to the conflict, which could lead to a “third world War”. Moscow calls its actions a “special military operation” to disarm Ukraine and rid it of Western-instigated anti-Russian nationalism. Ukraine and the West say Russia has launched an unprovoked offensive war.
