German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he expects Russia to end the war against Ukraine only when it can no longer fight it for economic and military reasons, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
"All efforts in recent weeks have been met with an even more aggressive approach by the Moscow regime against the people of Ukraine," Merz said at a regional event of German conservatives in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The war will not end until we together guarantee that Russia will not be able to continue fighting for economic and perhaps military reasons, the German leader stressed.
Earlier, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, said that Russian troops are conducting a continuous offensive along almost the entire front line in Ukraine and that they have the "strategic initiative".
Russia has also stepped up air strikes on Ukrainian cities and villages far behind the front line.
US President Donald Trump's efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict, which has been going on for four years, have so far failed, and Kiev and its European allies, including Germany, are calling for tougher economic sanctions against Moscow, Reuters recalls.
Hundreds of people joined an anti-war march in the German city of Cologne today, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
Some of the participants in the march, which passed through the center of Cologne, clashed with police.
A spokesman for the demonstrators said that security forces had surrounded protesters and that between 40 and 60 people were injured but were not allowed to go to hospital.
A police spokesman said demonstrators had attacked officers and said he could not confirm reports that any protesters were injured.
"Medical care is certainly available when needed," police said.
Organizers of the protest said up to 3,000 people took part.
Some demonstrators carried signs reading "We will not die in your wars" and "No" of conscription".
Germany is preparing changes to its legislation that would ensure the recruitment of more people into the armed forces on the principle of voluntary military service.
This is one of several steps aimed at improving Germany's defense capabilities against the backdrop of geopolitical changes that make Western Europe more vulnerable to threats coming from Russia, DPA notes.