German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said today at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after their meeting in Kiev that he told Russian President Volodymyr Putin that Russia should end its war in Ukraine, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
"In my conversation with Putin, I told him that Ukraine has the right to be an independent sovereign state. I stated that Russia should end its war in Ukraine and withdraw its troops," the German chancellor said. He spoke with Putin on the phone in the middle of last month.
"Ukraine needs more air defense systems to protect important sites from Russian missile attacks," Zelensky said in turn, quoted by Reuters.
"We strive to protect over twenty special objects, we simply do not have enough systems (for air defense) for such a massive missile attack," said the Ukrainian head of state.
Russia accused the West today of asking for a ceasefire in Ukraine to give itself time to rearm Kiev's troops who are on the frontline, France Press reported.
There is talk of a cease-fire in Western countries as a way to give a new impetus to Ukraine and enable Kiev to be equipped with modern weapons, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who met today in Moscow with his Hungarian colleague Peter Szijjártó.