BERLIN/HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) – Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) sees the international order in danger as a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. If Russian President Vladimir Putin got away with it, there would be a threat of “international rulelessness,” he said on Friday in a speech marking the 100th anniversary of the overseas club in Hamburg City Hall.
Scholz wants to address the population in a television speech on Sunday and also talk about the Ukraine war. Apart from the traditional New Year’s speech, his predecessor Angela Merkel (CDU) rarely addressed the German public directly.
On Sunday, May 8th, the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht in World War II will be commemorated in several countries. The day also marks the liberation of Europe from National Socialism. In the Pacific, the war continued. It only ended there with the surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945.
According to deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffman, the Chancellor’s speech will be broadcast on television in the evening. “Bild” first reported on the plan. Scholz addressed the population on February 24 shortly after the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. At the time he spoke of an “attack on an independent, sovereign country” and prophesied: “Putin will not win.”
Scholz made a similar statement in Hamburg. “Putin must not win this criminal war of aggression against Ukraine – and he will not win this war either,” said the Chancellor.
The 63-year-old will discuss the current situation in Ukraine with partners from the G7 countries in a digital switching conference on Sunday. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj will also be connected. In addition to Germany, the G7 group also includes France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom and the USA.
A day later, on May 9, Russia celebrates “Victory Day” and thus commemorates the victory of the Soviet army over Hitler’s Germany. A large military parade is expected./htz/DP/eas