Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) expects the future federal government to continue supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. “No federal government that cares about the security of Germany and Europe will leave the people in Ukraine alone,” said the Green politician to “Bild am Sonntag”. “Because only a just peace for Ukraine will ensure our peace and freedom in Europe.” Ukraine can rely on Germany, even beyond the federal elections. For its energy supply, Ukraine relies on electricity imports from the EU.
February 24th marks the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The early federal election will take place one day before. Since the beginning of the war, Germany has been one of Ukraine’s most important supporters, only the USA, as the largest arms supplier, has an even more important role – although there are fears in Kiev that the designated US President Donald Trump will drastically reduce support for the country and favor a kind of dictated peace with renunciation of territory Russia could enforce.
Baerbock: Putin is “out to absolute destruction”
The brutality of the attacks of the past few days shows that Russian President Vladimir Putin is still “bent on absolute destruction,” Baerbock told “Bild am Sonntag.” “Supporting Ukraine therefore continues to be an absolute self-protection of our own security and peace.” For the Foreign Minister it is clear: “A real peace means that no injustice is cemented.”
Ukraine therefore needs more than words for a negotiated peace solution, emphasized Baerbock. “Only reliable, long-term and, above all, truly resilient security guarantees will prevent Putin from further campaigns of conquest. Only then will there be sustainable peace and stability for Ukraine.”
However, it is questionable whether this will happen and whether Putin will permanently stop his campaign of conquest. In the meantime, mutual air strikes and fighting on the ground continue, with Ukrainians experiencing increased drone and missile attacks on the country’s energy supply for weeks, as had occurred in the two previous winters of war. As a result, there were repeated forced power cuts in various parts of the country. The Russian military wants to use this strategy to wear down the civilian population.
Ukraine relies on electricity from the EU
Electricity imports from the European Union are therefore particularly important for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj said his country receives around 19 percent of its own electricity needs from its EU partners in his evening video speech. “I have instructed our government officials, together with the European Commission, together with all our partners in Europe, to do everything possible to preserve the stability of the unified European energy system and European energy rules,” Zelensky said.
He appeared to be primarily targeting Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, who had threatened to cut off electricity supplies to neighboring Ukraine after a meeting with Putin in Moscow. “No matter what Putin said to Fico when he was in the Kremlin, European rules must be stronger than the ties of a particular character to Moscow,” Zelensky said.
Fico had threatened to take “adequate countermeasures” if Ukraine stopped sending Russian gas to Slovakia on January 1st as planned. “If it is unavoidable, then we will stop the electricity supplies that Ukraine urgently needs when it has supply shortages,” said the Slovakian.
“A second energy front against Ukraine”
Slovakia has been a member of both NATO and the European Union since 2004. Unlike its southern neighbor Hungary, the country has so far supported without exception all aid to Ukraine decided by the EU and all sanctions directed against Russia. In striking contrast, the left-wing populist Fico repeatedly attracts attention through his public criticism of the EU and NATO’s Ukraine policy.
Zelenskyj interpreted Fico’s threat as an order from the Kremlin. “It looks like Putin has given Fico the order to open a second energy front against Ukraine at the expense of the interests of the Slovaks,” Zelensky wrote on Platform X.
British support investigation of war crimes
Meanwhile, Great Britain wants to support the investigation of Russian war crimes in Ukraine with a sum of millions. The Ministry of Defense is making 4.5 million pounds (around 5.4 million euros) available for this, as the British news agency PA reported. The money will go, among other things, to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office – for the documentation and investigation of suspected war crimes as well as for criminal prosecution. “The atrocities we have seen in Ukraine are appalling – there can be no lasting peace without accountability,” said Foreign Minister David Lammy.
Amnesty denounces war crimes against children
Amnesty International also accuses Russia of war crimes against children. The human rights organization says it was able to use 120 videos to verify 17 incidents in 2024 alone in which children were harmed. The Geneva Convention outlaws deliberate attacks on civilians, aid workers, hospitals, educational institutions and religious institutions and considers them war crimes.
The crimes that the Russian military is accused of include the killing of numerous prisoners of war and the Bucha massacre, in which a number of civilians were killed in a suburb of Kiev. The Ukrainian side also accuses the invaders of kidnapping thousands of children from the occupied territories – which is primarily why the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Kremlin leader Putin in March 2023.
