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German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is in Kyiv on an unannouned visit, quite probably his last before next month's German election. He said he'd discuss continued European support, with Trump's return near in the US.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius arrived in Kyiv early on Tuesday, saying he wanted to discuss further European support for Ukraine — with a change of government imminent in the US and likely soon in Germany, too.

"What matters to me is showing with this visit that we continue to support Ukraine actively," Pistorius told the German dpa news agency on arrival.

He said he also wanted to get a clearer picture of both the situation on the front lines and Ukraine's military industrial capabilities.

'Group of Five' talks with UK, France, Italy and Poland first

The previous day, before boarding the overnight train from Poland to Ukraine, Pistorius met with his counterparts from Poland, the UK, France and Italy in Warsaw.

These five countries, comprising some of Europe's most significant militaries, are seeking to reassure Kyiv of continued European support — whatever Donald Trump's inauguration in the US next week might bring.

The quintet have been meeting regularly in various capacities in recent weeks.

"It is a signal that Germany, as the largest NATO member in Europe, stands at Ukraine's side," Pistorius said. "Not alone, but rather with the Group of Five, and many other allies."

The five foreign ministers agreed on a desire to strengthen Ukraine's own military industrial capacities, for instance making ammunition and drones.

"If the money is there, if the armaments production capacities are there, then Ukraine would be the fastest of anyone to provide its own troops with materiel and weapons," Pistorius said while still in Poland.

Change of government also looming in Germany, if perhaps not in Ukraine policy

Tuesday's visit could be Pistorius' last to Ukraine as defense minister, although he has voiced a desire to remain in his post in a future German government after February 23's elections.

For a time, the Social Democrat politician was even treated as a potential alternative to run for chancellor next month, in place of incumbent Olaf Scholz, given the SPD's struggles in the polls.

Eventually, Pistorius said he had no interest in doing so, and the SPD confirmed Scholz would run.

Their center-left party is currently polling third overall in most surveys — having never finished outside the top two in a federal election in post-war Germany — behind the center-right Christian Democrats and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The Christian Democrats have positioned themselves as staunch Ukraine supporters while leading the opposition since Russia's 2022 invasion, often criticizing the current coalition in Berlin for not doing enough.

So, while a change of personnel is likely, a wholesale change of the German approach to Ukraine might not be as likely as it appears in Washington.

Pistorius has warned against reducing support for Ukraine during the German campaign, rather more vocally than some SPD allies including Scholz.

"If we do that tomorrow, the day after tomorrow it would be the end of Ukraine: a free, sovereign, democratic country," he said. "And who would be next?"

msh/kb (AFP, dpa)

https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-pistorius-visits-with-trump-and-german-vote-looming/a-71291883

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Ukraine’s decision to terminate Russian gas transit soured Slovakia’s previously good relations with other countries, causing problems in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, Slovak parliament Deputy Speaker Andrej Danko told Sputnik in an exclusive interview during his trip to Moscow on January 14.

The real thorn is the desire of countries like Germany and France to profiteer by buying Russian resources such as oil, gas or nuclear fuel only to resell them to countries such as Slovakia at four times markup prices, all the while pretending that these resources did not originally come from Russia, Danko said.

France and Germany are aware that countries like Russia, China, India and Pakistan experience development whereas the European Union stagnates, Slovak parliament member stressed.

“They only need money, and politicians like Zelensky cater to their interests,” he complained. The majority of Slovak people, however, are none too thrilled with what is going on in the EU and want to maintain good relations with Russia, Danko added.

Russia is Lucky With Putin While European Leaders and Zelensky Can't Properly Manage Their Own Countries – Slovak MP

Oil, gas and disruption of relations between Slavs are consequences of Western policy, Slovak parliament Deputy Speaker Andrej Danko told Sputnik.

“For years we have been watching [Western] debts grow and how these countries cannot manage these debts from the economic standpoint,” he said. “Their attitude serves as a display of their hypocrisy. They attempt to retain the high social standards, standard of living, which they cannot afford economically. This applies to Germany, France and even to the US.”

“In terms of mental faculties, [French President Emmanuel] Macron is on Zelensky’s level. Macron is not [Charles] de Gaulle,” he remarked. “Russia is lucky to be led by a such person as President [Vladimir] Putin.”

https://sputnikglobe.com/20250114/western-powers-desire-to-profit-from-banning-russian-energy-sows-chaos-in-europe--slovak-mp-1121428345.html

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