Germany’s Scholz is in Ukraine for his first visit in 2 1/2 years

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Ukraine for the first time in more than 2 1/2 years Monday, just weeks after he was criticized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for having a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

That call came at a time of widespread speculation about what the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump will mean for Ukraine as the incoming president has promised to end the conflict. In a major shift, Zelenskyy signalled Friday that an an offer of NATO membership to territory under Kyiv’s control could end “the hot stage of the war” in Ukraine.

Scholz’s visit comes ahead of an early German election expected in February. As the campaign gets under way, Scholz has pointed to Germany’s status as Ukraine’s second-biggest weapons supplier while also highlighting his “prudence” in working to prevent the war escalating and refusing to deliver Taurus long-range cruise missiles.

Scholz has been cautious about talk of fast-tracking NATO membership for Ukraine. In recent months, he has emphasized the importance of finding a path to peace, while stressing that it must not be chosen over Ukraine’s head.

Scholz said that in his meeting with Zelenskyy he will announce further military deliveries this month totaling 650 million euros.

“I would like to make clear here on the ground that Germany will remain Ukraine’s strongest supporter in Europe,” he said.

Despite that, Scholz was criticized by Zelenskyy in November for speaking to Putin in what appeared to be the first conversation with the sitting leader of a major Western power in nearly two years. In that call, Scholz urged Putin to be open to negotiations with Ukraine but the Russian leader said any peace deal should acknowledge Russia’s territorial gains and security demands, including that Kyiv renounce joining NATO.

Zelenskyy suggested the call to Putin risked opening “a Pandora’s box” and would only serve to make Russia less isolated. He traveled to Berlin in October to meet Scholz to drum up support for his “victory plan” to end the war in Ukraine on a tour of European capitals.

The plan included a suggestion that Ukraine receive a formal invitation to join NATO and a request that Kyiv be given permission to use long-range Western missiles to strike at military targets inside Russia.

Some Western nations granted permission for Kyiv to carry out long-range strikes with their weapons in November. Following the decision, Putin said Russia launched a strike on Ukraine with an unstoppable intermediate range ballistic missile dubbed the Oreshnik . It marked the first time that such a missile was used in the war or in any other conflict.

乌克兰基辅（美联社）——德国总理奥拉夫·朔尔茨周一访问乌克兰，这是他两年半以来首次访问乌克兰。就在几周前，他因与俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京通电话而受到乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基的批评。

在外界广泛猜测候任总统唐纳德·特朗普的新政府将如何影响乌克兰之际，泽连斯基发出了这一呼吁。这位即将上任的总统曾承诺结束乌克兰冲突。周五，泽连斯基的态度发生重大转变，他表示，如果基辅控制的领土加入北约，就可能结束乌克兰“战争的热点阶段”。

朔尔茨此次访问正值德国预计于2月提前举行大选之际。随着竞选活动的展开，朔尔茨强调了德国作为乌克兰第二大武器供应国的地位，同时他也强调了自己在防止战争升级和拒绝向乌克兰交付“金牛座”远程巡航导弹方面的“谨慎”立场。

舒尔茨对加快乌克兰加入北约的讨论一直持谨慎态度。近几个月来，他强调寻求和平之路的重要性，同时强调这条道路绝不能越过乌克兰而做出。

舒尔茨表示，他将在本月与泽连斯基会面时宣布总额达 6.5 亿欧元的进一步军事交付计划。

“我想在此明确表示，德国仍将是乌克兰在欧洲最坚定的支持者，”他说。

尽管如此，朔尔茨还是在11月因与普京通话而受到泽连斯基的批评。那次通话似乎是近两年来他与西方主要大国在任领导人的首次对话。在通话中，朔尔茨敦促普京对与乌克兰进行谈判持开放态度，但普京表示，任何和平协议都应承认俄罗斯的领土扩张和安全诉求，包括基辅放弃加入北约。

泽连斯基认为，与普京的通话可能会打开“潘多拉魔盒”，只会让俄罗斯不再那么孤立。他于10月前往柏林会见朔尔茨，并在欧洲各国首都巡回演讲中争取支持，以推进其结束乌克兰战争的“胜利计划”。

该计划包括一项建议，即正式邀请乌克兰加入北约，以及一项请求，即允许基辅使用西方远程导弹打击俄罗斯境内的军事目标。

一些西方国家于11月允许基辅使用其武器进行远程打击。此后，普京宣布俄罗斯使用名为“奥列什尼克”（Oreshnik）的无法拦截的中程弹道导弹对乌克兰发动了打击。这是此类导弹首次在战争或其他任何冲突中使用。