"In the middle of winter, we see (Kyiv) that has suddenly become dark, and people are lining up in front of wells like during World War II. It's absolutely clear: Putin wants Ukrainians to freeze to death - and we are allowing that", “Bild” journalist Paul Ronzheimer wrote in a report from Kyiv published in the daily last week.
The Russian forces are unable to win the frontline war in the south and east, but are effectively terrorizing the civilian population with kamikaze drones and long-range missiles, Ronzheimer said.
According to the journalist, German Chancellor Scholz and his government should first and foremost ensure that Ukraine continues to receive the attention it needs - especially in the winter.
"At the same time, Scholz should respond to the Russian army's perfidious attacks on Ukrainian civilians. The air defense systems delivered so far are not enough, further IRIS-T and Patriot missile defense systems are needed. It is inexplicable why they are offered to Poland and not to Ukraine", Ronzheimer highlighted.
Earlier this month, Berlin offered Warsaw the Patriot missile defense system to help it to secure its airspace after a stray missile struck a village in southeastern Poland last week, killing two people.
The German government also offered Poland further help in air policing with German Eurofighters after the missile incident, which initially raised fears that Russia's war in Ukraine could spill across the border.
Ronzheimer wrote that if Germany doesn’t help in a decisive way millions of refugees will seek refuge in European countries because “Putin has made Ukraine uninhabitable”, the German journalist stressed.
Last Thursday, the German Interior Ministry reported that recent Russian attacks on power plants and other infrastructure facilities in Ukraine have not yet caused significantly more people from that country to seek refuge in Germany. "Since the peak in March, the number of war refugees from Ukraine entering Germany has been falling", according to the report. There have been "small increases in the number of arrivals" in recent weeks but for now this has not translated into a visible trend.
Since February 24, a total of 8,053,000 people have crossed into Poland from Ukraine.
(jh)
Source: PAP, Bild