Germany’s Scholz pledges $680m in military aid on surprise Ukraine visit

German chancellor to clasp talks with Zelenskyy earlier inauguration of Trump, who has pledged to extremity the war.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pledged further subject enactment worthy $680m to Ukraine successful an unannounced sojourn to Kyiv aft President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought information guarantees from NATO to support itself amid dependable Russian advances.

In a connection announcing his sojourn connected Monday, Scholz said the subject assistance volition beryllium delivered this month, amid Ukraine’s renewed effort to support its territory, astir 20 percent of which has been occupied by Russia.

The visit, his 2nd since Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine astir 3 years ago, comes amid uncertainty earlier President-elect Donald Trump takes the reins astatine the White House and arsenic Russian forces marque territorial gains.

“I travelled to Kyiv tonight: by bid done a state that has been defending itself against the Russian warfare of aggression for implicit 1,000 days,” Scholz said successful a station connected X.

“I would similar to marque it wide present connected the crushed that Germany volition stay Ukraine’s strongest protagonist successful Europe.

“Ukraine tin trust connected Germany – we accidental what we do. And we bash what we say.”

During his visit, Scholz volition clasp talks with Zelenskyy, who is acceptable to push NATO to invitation Ukraine to articulation the subject confederation astatine a gathering successful Brussels this week.

Chinese-made drones

Zelenskyy had precocious criticised Scholz aft the German person held a phone telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to sermon ways to extremity the war. The Ukrainian person had said the determination would unfastened a “Pandora’s box” by weakening Putin’s planetary isolation.

Scholz’s sojourn besides comes arsenic helium faces a pugnacious conflict for re-election astatine a drawback ballot successful February aft his conjugation collapsed successful November.

His grounds of supporting Ukraine has been nether scrutiny some from those who wanted him to bash much to assistance Kyiv and, connected the different side, those voters who privation Germany to propulsion backmost from sending weapons and assistance to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Putin is dragging Asia into the warfare successful Ukraine with the usage of Chinese-made drones and the deployment of North Korean troops.

“Drones from Chinese factories and North Korean troops attacking bid successful the centre of Europe interruption our halfway European information interests,” Baerbock said aft gathering with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, successful Beijing.

Amid the continuing subject beforehand by Russia into Ukraine, Zelenskyy said Ukraine indispensable find diplomatic solutions to retake immoderate of its occupied territory.

He said specified steps could beryllium considered “only erstwhile we cognize that we are beardown enough”, helium said successful an interrogation with the Japanese quality bureau Kyodo published connected Monday.

Zelenskyy besides said Trump and his squad were studying the Ukrainian “victory plan” and expected further talks with them to explicate “certain things successful much detail”, according to the report.

Russia’s drone attack

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s aerial unit reported that Russia launched 110 drones into the state overnight. One of the drones deed a residential gathering successful the occidental metropolis of Ternopil, sidesplitting 1 idiosyncratic and injuring respective others.

Of the 110 drones, the aerial unit changeable down 52 and 50 were “lost”, apt owed to physics warfare, it said.

One drone remained successful Ukrainian airspace and six of the drones headed towards Belarus and Russia, the aerial unit added.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies