BERLIN: President Volodymyr Zelensky’s adviser claimed Kyiv wanted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to come and commit further armament delivery, explaining the snub.

On Tuesday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he had offered to visit Ukraine alongside other EU leaders, but Kiev had refused.

German diplomats saw the action against Steinmeier, a former foreign minister who just apologised for earlier overly friendly approach toward Moscow.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said Zelensky had not intended to insult Berlin.

“I think the main argument was different — our president expects the chancellor so that he (Scholz) can take direct practical decisions, including weapons deliveries,” he told broadcaster ZDF.

The German president is a ceremonial figurehead, whereas the chancellor leads the state.

We might acquire German weaponry, according to Arestovych, but they haven’t been guaranteed.

“Every minute that a tank doesn’t arrive… it is our children who are dying, being raped, being killed”, Arestovych added.

The German political elite “has seen the terrible images” of the war, he added. The Russian army’s actions in Ukraine “are not unique”.

Scholz is under increasing domestic pressure to back Ukraine after the seven-week Russian incursion that has killed thousands of Ukrainians.

The chancellor, like Steinmeier, first promised a radical change in German defence and foreign policy, including a large increase in military expenditure.

But he has so far declined to visit Kyiv with other EU leaders and has refused to deliver heavy weaponry to Ukraine for historical reasons.

Germany has so far delivered defensive armaments like as anti-tank weapons, missile launchers, and surface-to-air missiles.

The attitude has heightened tensions inside Scholz’s administration, with Green ministers pushing for more weapons delivery.

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