German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin “can no longer win on the battlefield, and that seems too obvious.”
Schultz, at a joint press conference with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades in Berlin, called for an immediate halt to “terrorist bombings against the civilian population.”
“Not only is it intolerable, it is a flagrant violation of international law that Russia has been dropping bombs on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine for weeks,” Schultz said.
The chancellor also said Russia’s actions showed once again “how ruthless and brutal Putin is” in the war that began nine months ago.
He added, “This is why I keep calling on Putin: stop the senseless killings, withdraw your forces completely from Ukraine, and agree to peace talks with Ukraine.” Schulz said.
Macron wants to reconnect with Putin
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon. “I intend to contact him directly in the next few days,” Macron told reporters in Paris.
According to Macron, the leaders will talk about “civilian nuclear energy” and the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia.
There have been frequent attacks on the sprawling nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. The International Atomic Energy Agency spoke of “targeted attacks” that Kyiv and Moscow blamed.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement on Wednesday that the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant had once again been cut off from external energy supplies. The factory was now dependent on emergency diesel generators.
The plant is located in the Zaporizhzhya region, which Russia has declared annexed, near the front line. In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree to place the nuclear power plant under Russian administration.
dh / dj (AFP, dpa)
