KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥 German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Ukraine for the first time in more than two years Monday and vowed to keep supporting Kyiv in the war, just weeks after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rebuked him for having a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The conflict is approaching a pivotal new phase, with the new U.S. administration of Donald Trump taking office next month and after the president-elect鈥檚 pledge to end the fighting, with few details.
Ukraine is sensitive to whether cracks might be appearing in the unity of its Western allies behind helping it against Russia, as Putin banks on outlasting that commitment. Germany is Ukraine鈥檚 second-largest military backer after the United States.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby emphasized Monday that the Biden administration鈥檚 job is to put Ukraine in the best position of strength to give Zelenskyy leverage when negotiations begin. He underlined that it鈥檚 Zelenskyy 鈥渨ho gets to decide if and when he鈥檚 ready to negotiate, and he gets to decide what if anything he鈥檚 willing to negotiate.鈥
With the war soon to enter its fourth year, Zelenskyy said he disagreed with Scholz鈥檚 call with Putin. Zelenskyy said it could prompt phone calls with other leaders, possibly reducing Putin鈥檚 international isolation and legitimizing his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Scholz defended the call, saying he wanted to remind Putin that Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state that should be able to decide its own future. He also stressed that he conveyed to Putin that Ukraine is not alone and that its partners will continue their support.
Germany is a vociferous supporter of Ukraine, but Scholz has refused to budge on two of Zelenskyy鈥檚 key requests: supplying German- and Swedish-made to Ukraine and inviting it to join NATO quickly.
Scholz, who faces an early election in February, has cast his refusal to send Taurus missiles as part of a 鈥減rudent鈥 approach to the conflict that assures Ukraine of strong support without taking the risk of the war escalating into a conflict between NATO and Russia.
鈥淭his doesn鈥檛 lessen our support, which is very wide-ranging and 鈥 it is important for me to say 鈥 will remain wide-ranging,鈥 Scholz said in Kyiv.
In a major shift, Zelenskyy signaled Friday that to territory under Kyiv鈥檚 control could end 鈥渢he hot stage of the war鈥 in Ukraine.
Some Western nations granted permission in November for Kyiv to carry out with the weapons they have supplied. Following the decision, Putin said Russia launched a strike on Ukraine with an unstoppable intermediate-range ballistic missile dubbed the that he claimed can't be intercepted.
It marked the first time that such a missile was used in the war or in any other conflict.
Scholz has been cautious about talk of fast-tracking NATO membership for Ukraine. He has emphasized the importance of finding a path to peace, which he insists must not be chosen over Ukraine's head.
Germany, a leader in providing Ukraine with air defense systems, has already supplied five IRIS-T systems, three Patriot systems and over 50 Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, Scholz said. Another batch of military aid being delivered this month will include another IRIS-T system and more Gepards, he added. More material is to follow in 2025.
Russia has kept up a of Ukraine and . In recent months, Russia launched 347 missiles of various types against Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.
He pleaded for more Western air defense systems, adding that around 20 critical objects are not protected. He didn鈥檛 elaborate.
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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Colleen Long in Washington contributed.
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