Merz: Ukraine's capitulation is the capitulation of us all
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that Ukraine's surrender in the war with Russia is unacceptable for Europe. He emphasized that this would mean the capitulation of all of Kyiv's allies. At the same time, the Chancellor noted that Germany and European countries are ready for negotiations at any time.
Merz: Ukraine's surrender is the surrender of all of us
"We are not supporting Ukraine to prolong this war. But Ukraine's capitulation, especially an unconditional surrender, is unacceptable. Because it means the surrender of all of us," the chancellor said.
Merz named the disinformation and hybrid attacks spread by Russia as the greatest threat to Germany's security. He accused Moscow of attacking the political order that was formed after the end of the Cold War.
"What worries me the most right now is not our economy, nor the US, nor China, but Russia's influence on our society," the head of the German government said.
According to him, this refers to acts of sabotage, hybrid attacks on communication systems, and attempts to destabilize the situation in Germany. The chancellor emphasized that such attacks occur daily, but the scale of the threat in the country is still not sufficiently assessed.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky likened the recent actions of US President Donald Trump's administration to pushing Kyiv to surrender.
In an interview with Bloomberg agency on October 18, Zelensky expressed his belief that steps aimed at convincing Ukraine to capitulate had been taken. However, he refrained from calling this the explicit goal of the American partners.
"I don't want to believe that our American partners think the war can be ended quickly at Ukraine's expense. But that is how it looks," the Ukrainian president said.
Trump, in turn, accused Zelensky of not wanting to end the war and advised him to hand over the negotiations to someone else.