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Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a harsh rebuke of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, breaking her monthslong public silence on the matter amid allegations she enjoyed a cozy relationship with the Kremlin.
Merkel, who has faced criticism for amicable relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin during her tenure, slammed the Kremlin’s offensive as a “barbaric war of aggression” and a “far-reaching turning point” in Europe while praising the West’s effort to “find an end to this barbaric war.”
“My solidarity goes out to Ukraine, which has been attacked and raided by Russia,” Merkel proclaimed during a speech at a German trade union event in Berlin on Wednesday night, according to CNBC. She also decried the war as the most “glaring breach of international law” in Europe since the Second World War.
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While Merkel stressed she did not want to give advice from the sidelines, she underscored that Ukraine has an indisputable right to defend itself against foreign aggression.
A Russian speaker, Merkel was able to talk with Putin in his native language on several occasions during her chancellorship, though she typically relied on an interpreter. In light of the bloodshed in Ukraine, she has faced heightened scrutiny for being mum on the war for several months as well as promoting initiatives during her tenure that were aimed at easing relations with Germany’s eastern neighbor.
One point of focus for critics has been the increased German dependence on Russian gas, including the Nord Stream pipeline. Her successor, Olaf Scholz, stymied the development of its successor, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, earlier this year in response to Moscow’s belligerence against Ukraine.
Merkel was one of the longest-serving heads of a European Union nation when she left office last December, having held the post from 2005 to 2021. The former chancellor grew up in East Germany, which had been a satellite state of the Soviet Union until the end of the Cold War.
The early years of her tenure were marked by initiatives such as energy agreements aimed at bolstering ties with Russia, but that began to shift after the 2014 annexation of Ukraine in which Germany participated in sanction efforts against its eastern neighbor.
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Against the backdrop of criticism from some, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, that Germany is not doing enough to help, Scholz announced Wednesday it would arm Ukraine with the IRIS-T air defense system.
Russia launched the war in late February and now controls nearly 20% of Ukraine’s territory, according to Zelensky.
