“Russia cannot win this criminal war and with his latest decisions, Putin is only making it all much worse,” said Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the fringes of his New York trip, as a reaction to the announcement by Russian President Putin of partial mobilisation and sham referendums in four regions of Ukraine. These were “an act of desperation,” he said.

Right prevails over violence

The Federal Chancellor stressed that such sham referendums would never be accepted – either by Ukrainians or by the global community. They “can therefore offer no justification for what Russia is planning, namely to conquer their neighbour’s country, or parts of its territory, with violence,” said Federal Chancellor Scholz. “In the world in which we live, right must prevail over violence and violence cannot be stronger than justice.”

In conversation with the television news magazine ARD-Tagesthemen on Wednesday evening, the Federal Chancellor again stressed that Putin had miscalculated and that his plans would not succeed. “He has been thwarted by the resistance of Ukrainians but also by the very comprehensive military and financial support for Ukraine by its friends and allies, and in particular by Germany,” said Scholz, adding that Germany was acting together with its partners – and always with the necessary caution. “Everyone in Germany can depend on that.”

Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck also criticised Putin’s decision on partial mobilisation. On Wednesday, he called this a “terrible and wrong step”.