In Bellevue Palace, the heads of the constitutional bodies commemorate the victims of the anniversary of the attack on Ukraine. Federal President Steinmeier called the Russian invasion an attack on everything "for which we also stand".
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned against a slacking of support for Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin is counting on "that Ukraine's allies will eventually tire, that we will become numb and look the other way," said the head of state at Bellevue Palace in Berlin. "We will not do Putin this favor." Steinmeier promised Ukraine permanent support: "You can rely on Germany."
The Federal President spoke at the central event on the anniversary of the Ukraine war, to which the heads of the constitutional bodies also came to Bellevue Palace. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Germany for its support in a video greeting. "From the first minutes of the Russian invasion, Germany was with us," Zelensky said. "Germany is helping us to protect Ukraine from Russian terror."
In his speech, Steinmeier combined his pledge of support to Ukraine with an appeal to the citizens: "Germany is not at war, but this war concerns us," he said. The country attacked by Russia is also about the European order of peace and freedom - and Germany must also make a great effort to defend it. Russia's attack on Ukraine is "an attack on everything that we stand for," said Steinmeier. "Today, Germany is Ukraine's biggest supporter on the European continent, including militarily. And despite all the controversial, sometimes shrill debates, I am certain that we will continue to be."
Steinmeier warned against unrealistic hopes for peace. "Many people are longing for peace these days - in our country, worldwide, but nowhere more so than in Ukraine itself," said the Federal President. "But a sham peace that only rewards Putin's land grabs and leaves people to the arbitrariness of the occupiers, such a peace will not be peace."
The Federal President also warned against all attempts to relativize Russia's responsibility for this war. "It is Russia that has brutally attacked its neighboring country," he said. "Western defense aid isn't prolonging the war - it's Russia."
Steinmeier delivered a devastating verdict on Russian President Putin: "Anyone who murders and kills, who bombs the Ukraine to pieces, destroys cities and abducts children, who lets their own soldiers bleed to death needlessly day after day, will never be a winner in the face of history standing there, he has already lost."
Part of the commemoration event was a panel discussion with guests from Ukraine, who reported on their experiences during the war and what they expected of the supporters. The singer Kataryna Polischuk, who was taken prisoner by the Russians with the fighters in the Azov steelworks, pointed out the importance of the fight for all of Europe: "Ukraine has become a protective shield, because we know that Russia will not curb its appetite ."
After the war began a year ago, Steinmeier was initially in a difficult personal diplomatic situation: Ukraine accused him of having pursued a policy that was too pro-Russian as a former foreign minister. A scandal broke out when Kiev initially canceled a planned visit by the Federal President. The "irritations" have now been overcome, according to Steinmeier's environment.
At the event, the Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksiy Makeyev thanked Germany unreservedly for its solidarity. "German weapons save lives, German weapons save Ukraine," Makeyev said. "Having an ally like that is the greatest thing."
