Ukraine Crisis: Olaf Scholz negotiates with Vladamir Putin

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Speaking at a press conference, alongside leaders from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Mr Scholz said he was providing more support to Ukraine than “almost anyone else”. He added: “Germany is one of the main supporters of Ukraine militarily and probably only the United States provides greater support than us”. Mr Scholz was blasted on social media for his claim, with one person accusing the German chancellor of having “no shame”.

Evangeline (@eviebearwrites) joked: “I had no idea Scholz had such a great sense of humor. And no shame.

“Although I kind of suspected the no shame part.”

Another, nicknamed olololo (@kibukko), wrote: “Is he living in same reality as rest of us?”

A third user, @Ni79Mo wrote: “See what happens when you hang out with RuZZia too much? You start creating your own realities as well.”

Meanwhile Andrzej Dwulat (@ADwulat) added: “It’s crystal clear, that Germany, France and Italy in the fact do NOT support Ukraine.”

Germany has been widely criticised for its response to the Ukraine crisis, as the country has expressed opposition to phasing out Russian oil and gas.

A recent study by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy found that the UK, along with Poland, provided more military support to Ukraine than Germany.

It was ranked fifth, behind the United States in first place and the UK in second.

Just two days ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson as an “important ally”.

Speaking after the Prime Minister won a confidence vote, Mr Zelensky said: “I’m glad we haven’t lost an important ally, this is great news.”

Last month, German news outlet Die Welt revealed that Germany had not sent any heavy weapons to Ukraine since mid-March, saying that the country appears to be scaling back military support.

Berlin, the EU’s biggest economy and the world’s fifth largest arms exporter, gives less than 0.1 percent of its economic output to Ukraine.

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The three Baltic countries who stood alongside Mr Scholz at the press conference, who have much smaller economies, give between 0.2 and 0.9 percent of their GDP to Ukraine.

The press conference saw Mr Scholz vow to “do everything we can to ensure that Russia cannot win this war.”

He claimed that the “considerable, massive and far-reaching support from Germany” has been a “very central contribution to Ukraine’s ability to defend itself to this day.”

The press conference also saw mounting tensions between Germany and the Baltic states over Mr Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron’s phone calls with Putin.

Speaking about the calls, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said: “Of course, as a state, one can try to use every opportunity that appears to be available.

“We in Lithuania, however, think that it is impossible to talk to the leader of a state that is trying to redraw the map in Europe in the 21st century.”

Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš said he was “convinced that Putin will not start talks until he realizes that he is starting to lose the war”, while Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas added: “We should not worry so much about what Putin wants, but rather about how we can help Ukraine to continue fighting.”

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