Scholz visits Kyiv: Promises Ukraine weapons, but no NATO invitation

(Patria) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Kyiv yesterday for the first time in two and a half years with a message of support from Berlin, promising that Germany will remain Ukraine's strongest supporter in Europe.

Scholz arrived in the Ukrainian capital on Monday morning, after a nine-hour train journey.

He announced further arms deliveries worth 650 million euros by the end of December to strengthen Ukraine's defense against Russia, including battle tanks, missiles, drones, and air defense systems.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who welcomed Scholz to Kyiv, thanked Germany for its continued support.

However, Zelenskyy also noted that two urgent Ukrainian requests – for an invitation to join NATO and for deliveries of German-made Taurus long-range cruise missiles – remain unfulfilled.

Scholz instead avoided questions about Ukraine's NATO aspirations, stating only that previous NATO resolutions had set a path towards Ukraine's eventual membership in the alliance.

The Chancellor is referring to meetings in 2023 and 2024, where NATO countries merely confirmed that Ukraine should become a member of the Western defense alliance at some point. But NATO countries did not offer a concrete timeline or detailed conditions for Ukraine's accession.

Scholz reiterated at a joint press conference with Zelenskyy that he refuses to send Taurus missiles, emphasizing that arming Ukraine with long-range weapons risks escalation with Russia.

The Ukrainian leader has, in recent weeks, renewed Ukraine's push to join NATO in light of Russian territorial gains in bloody fighting on the front lines.

Thus, on Sunday, he described an official invitation to join NATO as "necessary for our survival," while adding that he does not expect to receive it, citing skepticism in the US, Germany, and Hungary as reasons.

Before the talks, the two leaders visited wounded Ukrainian soldiers in Kyiv together, including some who lost limbs fighting the Russian invasion. Zelenskyy awarded medals to some soldiers during the visit.

Zelenskyy and Scholz also watched a presentation of drones used in Ukraine's defense campaign against Russia.