TOP PHOTO: Ukrainian soldiers walk across a destroyed bridge during the evacuation by civilians of the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, on March 8, 2022. More than two million people have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion less than two weeks ago, the United Nations said on March 8, 2022. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has stalled despite the daily assaults inflicted by his troops, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday, urging Moscow to “immediately” stop the fighting.
“Putin’s offensive is stuck despite all the destruction that it is bringing day after day,” Scholz said in a speech to the German parliament.
Unprecedented sanctions imposed by Western partners are working and will only bring further damage to Russia’s economy, warned the German leader.
“But that is just the beginning, many of the toughest consequences will only been seen in the coming weeks,” he said, warning that “we are constantly creating sanctions.”
Putin “must hear the truth” that not only is the war destroying Ukraine, “but also Russia’s future”.
Scholz insisted that Germany stands by Kyiv but said he would not endorse calls for NATO to help erect a no-fly zone over Ukraine or to send in “peacekeeping troops”.
“As difficult as it is, we will not give in on that,” he said, adding that Germany would not risk a direct military conflict between nuclear-armed Russia and NATO.
© Agence France-Presse
