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Germany Pledges Fast Military Aid to Ukraine in Effort to Reassure

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Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Kyiv on Monday. Amid fears that U.S. support could dry up, Ukrainian officials had criticized him for a recent phone call with President Vladimir V. Putin.

Two men stand before a memorial in Kyiv of Ukrainian flags and bouquets of flowers.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, left, and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine visited a makeshift memorial in Kyiv on Monday.Credit…Roman Pilipey/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany paid a surprise visit to Ukraine on Monday, his first in more than two years, to reaffirm his country’s support amid mounting concern in Kyiv that the West could scale back military aid and push for a negotiated settlement with Russia.

Mr. Scholz’s trip came two weeks after he held a phone call with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to discuss potential paths to end the war. Ukrainian officials denounced that outreach, saying that it broke Mr. Putin’s diplomatic isolation from the West and bolstered Moscow’s position ahead of possible peace talks.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine was particularly critical, warning that Mr. Scholz’s phone call risked opening “a Pandora’s box” by encouraging more leaders to engage with Mr. Putin, ultimately legitimizing the Russian president’s position.

Mr. Scholz’s visit to Kyiv on Monday appeared, at least in part, aimed at easing those tensions, and he announced that his country would deliver $680 million of military equipment to Ukraine by the year’s end, part of a bigger package announced in the fall.

“We will not weaken our support for Ukraine,” Mr. Scholz said at a news conference in Kyiv on Monday afternoon.

Mr. Zelensky, who has often complained about long delays in the delivery of Western aid, thanked Mr. Scholz for the speedy supply of the military equipment, which will include air defense systems and armored vehicles.


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