German Chancellor Scholz brings emergency suitcase to Kyiv

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Scholz wanted to visit Ukraine in 2024, before Donald Trump's inauguration. The Chancellor intends to find out what the Ukrainian leader is ready to do to end the conflict.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org by Frank Schwichtenberg, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Olaf Scholz

According to German publication Bild, Olaf Scholz's visit to Ukraine was scheduled even before the ruling coalition in Germany fell apart in early November.

"With 83 days to go before the Bundestag elections, Scholz naturally wants to send a clear signal: I am the Chancellor," Bild said.

Against the backdrop of Trump's promises to begin negotiations for a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, the German Chancellor intends to stand up for the interests of Ukraine.

Scholz arrived in Kyiv on December 2. This is his second visit in 2.5 years. Before that, the German Chancellor announced the allocation of another assistance package to Ukraine worth 650 million euros.

Many paid attention to the fact that the Chancellor brought a mysterious suitcase with him, which he did not let go of. Scholz was seen getting off a train with a silvery suitcase in his hand.

Scholz and Zelensky visited a hospital where they talked to wounded Ukrainian soldiers. One of the photos made during the visit shows a Ukrainian soldier who lost his leg in battles. The picture shows the soldier hugging the president and Scholz kneeling next to them. All the three men are smiling.

According to the Chancellor, during his visit to Kyiv he would like to express his solidarity with Ukraine and "make it clear that Germany will remain the main country in Europe supporting Ukraine."

Scholz also said that Kyiv could rely on Berlin, since the German leadership "says what it does" and "does what it says."

German Defense Ministry spokesman Mitko Müller later announced that the new aid package for Ukraine worth 650 million euros included IRIS-T air defense missile systems, Leopard 1 tanks, reconnaissance and attack drones.

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Olaf Scholz (born (1958-06-14)14 June 1958) is a German politician who has been Chancellor of Germany since 2021. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as vice chancellor in the fourth Merkel cabinet and as Federal Minister of Finance from 2018 to 2021. He was also First Mayor of Hamburg from 2011 to 2018, deputy leader of the SPD from 2009 to 2019, and Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs from 2007 to 2009. Scholz began his career as a lawyer specialising in labour and employment law. He became a member of the SPD in the 1970s and was a member of the Bundestag from 1998 to 2011. Scholz served in the Hamburg Government under First Mayor Ortwin Runde in 2001 and became general secretary of the SPD in 2002, where he served alongside SPD leader and then-chancellor Gerhard Schröder. He became his party's chief whip in the Bundestag, later entering the First Merkel Government in 2007 as Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs. After the SPD moved into the opposition following the 2009 election, Scholz returned to lead the SPD in Hamburg. He was then elected deputy leader of the SPD. He led his party to victory in the 2011 Hamburg state election and became first mayor, a position he held until 2018.