German navy chief Schönbach’s statements are causing quite a stir in foreign policy. The Ukrainians are making comparisons with the Nazis and summoning the German ambassador. Germany’s role and reliability is now also being questioned, not only because of the rejected arms deliveries. New elected chairman of the CDU Friedrich Merz also spoke out today against NATO’s eastward expansion.

Ukraine is outraged by the statements made by navy chief Schönbach, who was fired. The German ambassador in Kiev was called to the Ukrainian minister  – and the delivery of weapons was again requested. The Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, has described the resignation of the German Navy chief Kay-Achim Schönbach because of controversial statements about the Ukraine conflict as insufficient. „We welcome the fact that Mr. Schönbach has offered his resignation,“ said Melnyk to the German newspaper”WELT”. However, the scandal left „a pile of fragments and rubble“ and „massively called into question“ Germany’s international credibility and reliability. Schönbach commented on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine during a visit to India on Friday. He described the invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine feared by western states as “nonsense”. What Russian President Vladimir Putin really wants is „respect at eye level,“ said the Vice admiral. „It’s easy to give him the respect he wants – and probably deserves.“ Schönbach also commented on the Ukrainian Crimea annexed by Russia in 2014. „The Crimean peninsula is lost, it will never return,“ said Schönbach. The ambassador criticized that Schönbach’s statements had „sent the entire Ukrainian public into deep shock“. Melnyk drew a comparison with the Nazi era: „With this condescending attitude, the Ukrainians unconsciously felt reminded of the horrors of the Nazi occupation, when the Ukrainians were treated as subhuman,“ he said. Melnyk also spoke of a „cynical trivialization of the occupation of Crimea, which violates international law“ and a haughty questioning of Ukraine’s sovereignty. The statements by the Navy chief, who has since resigned, speak of „German arrogance and megalomania, with which one of the highest-ranking heads of the Bundeswehr dreams of a holy alliance with the war criminal Putin and a German-Russian modern crusade against China“. Melnyk was referring to another statement by Schönbach, who had said: „We need Russia against China.“

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba criticized the government’s refusal to supply arms to his country. „We are disappointed by Germany’s continued refusal to authorize the delivery of defensive arms to Ukraine, especially in the current situation,“ Kuleba told Welt am Sonntag. „We would be even more disappointed if Germany not only refused to supply us with defensive arms but also prevented others from doing so.“ The US newspaper Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Germany was blocking the delivery of German arms through Estonia to Ukraine. Kueba stressed that Ukraine was not under an arms embargo. It has never planned offensive military operations and is not doing so now. The stronger Ukraine is now, the lower the risk of another military conflict with Russia. „We are a nation that has been under attack since 2014 and we just want to be able to defend ourselves and prevent a major conflict.“ He respected German references to the past to explain current politics, but could not agree. »Ukraine suffered immense losses and destruction in World War II. Now that we are suffering and threatened again, the only appropriate policy is to allow us to defend ourselves.“ Germany has made mistakes against Ukraine in the past. Part of Germany’s responsibility is „to make the right decisions today.“

While former German Generals like General ret. Domroese or General ret. Kujat or Vice admiral Schönbach don´t believe in a Russian invasion, the British government warns of a Russian invasion and a Russian plot to install a pro-Russian government in Kyiv. This is the official press release by the British government:

“Press release

Kremlin plan to install pro-Russian leadership in Ukraine exposed

Foreign Secretary statement on Kremlin plan to install pro-Russian leadership in Ukraine exposed

From:Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP

Published 22 January 2022

We have information that indicates the Russian Government is looking to install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv as it considers whether to invade and occupy Ukraine. The former Ukrainian MP Yevhen Murayev is being considered as a potential candidate.

We have information that the Russian intelligence services maintain links with numerous former Ukrainian politicians including:

• Serhiy Arbuzov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2012-2014, and acting Prime Minister in 2014
• Andriy Kluyev, First Deputy Prime Minister from 2010-2012 and Chief of Staff to former Ukrainian President Yanukovich
• Vladimir Sivkovich, former Deputy Head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council (RNBO)
• Mykola Azarov, Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2010-2014

Some of these have contact with Russian intelligence officers currently involved in the planning for an attack on Ukraine.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said:

The information being released today shines a light on the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine, and is an insight into Kremlin thinking.

Russia must de-escalate, end its campaigns of aggression and disinformation, and pursue a path of diplomacy. As the UK and our partners have said repeatedly, any Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake with severe costs.

The UK’s position on Ukraine is also clear. We unequivocally support its sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, including Crimea. Ukraine is an independent, sovereign country“..

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/kremlin-plan-to-install-pro-russian-leadership-in-ukraine-exposed

„Some of them are in contact with Russian intelligence officials who are currently involved in planning an attack on Ukraine,“ the Foreign Office said in London. It was not specified where the information came from. Shortly before, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had accepted an invitation from his British colleague Ben Wallace to a meeting. The British Foreign Office’s allegations are likely to cast doubt on the planned meeting.GB assumes an invasion and a coup by the old Yanukovych network in Kyiv. But the Russians can at best occupy eastern Ukraine and how is such a coup supposed to take place in Kiev? An anti-Maidan? Without Russian tanks in Kyiv? No reports that the Yanukovych supporters would have set up armed units like the Serbs in Srpska. And a coup attempt like in Montenegro is not very promising either.