Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared that dealing with war criminals requires zero tolerance, specifically targeting Russian President Putin as potentially the current era's worst offender
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz cautioned that Ukrainian surrender would create a cascade of Russian attacks on neighboring countries, ultimately reaching Germany,
Russian propaganda outlets falsely identified a tissue used by President Emmanuel Macron as a "packet of cocaine," prompting a direct response from the Elysee Palace.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz with hopes for increased leadership in European affairs during a critical period for the continent.
Ukraine's attempt to organize a diplomatic counter-event to Putin's Victory Day parade has hit a roadblock as multiple European leaders decline to attend.
Ukraine's former ambassador to Germany and current UN representative, Andrii Melnyk, responded "Please stop with this clown show. We're not on the Reeperbahn [red-light district in Hamburg, Germany]. Ukraine needs Taurus like it needs air. Don't let us suffocate."
Boris Pistorius said that while there are "strong arguments in favor" of supplying Taurus missiles to Ukraine, there were also "many strong arguments against it."
The German chancellor-in-waiting prepares the visit for 9 May, as the Kremlin threatens him after Merz supported future Taurus missile supplies to Kyiv.