Kiev calls for energy embargo Scholz, Zelenskyj talk about ‘anti-Russian sanctions’
04/10/2022, 16:26
Once again, Chancellor Scholz assured Ukrainian President Zelenskyj of Germany’s full support. Everything will be done to solve Russian war crimes. However, calls from Kiev to impose harsher penalties have so far gone unheeded.
In a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned “the heinous war crimes committed by the Russian military” in the Kiev suburb of Bucha and elsewhere in Ukraine. Deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann announced that she expressed Germany’s solidarity and full support for the people of Ukraine.
The federal government, together with its international partners, will do everything in its power to ensure that crimes are ruthlessly clarified and perpetrators identified so that they can be held accountable before national and international courts, he said. Zelenskyj wrote on Twitter that he also spoke to Scholz about “anti-Russian sanctions, defense and financial support for Ukraine”.
Former world boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko is also urgently asking for Germany’s help. Addressing Ukrainians in Germany and German supporters, Klitschko, whose brother Vitali is the mayor of Kiev, said: “Everyone is putting pressure on the German government. We need an embargo on Russia’s oil and gas now. We need more weapons now. Here in Ukraine every hour, every minute counts.”
Moscow: Sanctions do not lead to a change of course
In the video message to participants at a “Lighthouse Ukraine” solidarity event in Berlin, Klitschko particularly emphasized the word “now”. He added: “It is so important that you continue. That you help so that the people affected by this brutal war are not forgotten.” About a week ago, Klitschko met with Chancellor Scholz and several ministers. In a moving video message, he thanked the Germans and their government for their help in defending against the Russian invasion of his Ukrainian homeland.
Russian troops invaded Ukraine six weeks ago. After British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer visited Kiev on Saturday, Zelenskyy called for greater Western pressure on Russia. He also reiterated his call for a ban on oil imports from Russia. Russia is said to lose billions in revenue from the sale of oil and can no longer finance its war. Moscow, on the other hand, has strong reservations and emphasizes that the sanctions have not led to a change in political direction.