German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “stuck” and that President Vladimir Putin needed to “hear the truth,” BBC reported.
He also warned that any suggestion of an immediate embargo on Russian energy supplies should be dismissed, as the consequences for Europe would be disastrous.
He stated that Germany is on its way to becoming independent of Russian energy sources, but “doing this from one day to the next would push our country and the whole of Europe into a recession”.
He warned that “entire industries would be on the verge of collapsing,” and that existing anti-Russian sanctions are already having a significant impact on German citizens, according to the BBC.
Despite continued heavy bombardment of cities and towns, Russian forces are failing to advance in Ukraine, according to Scholz.
“Putin’s offensive is stuck despite all the destruction that it is bringing day after day,” he said, adding that the Russian leader “needs to hear the truth”, stop the fighting and try to find a diplomatic solution.
According to Scholz, the war is destroying not only Ukraine, “but also Russia’s future”.
He threatened Moscow with additional sanctions, saying: Warning Moscow of further penalties, he said: “We are constantly tightening the sanctions, but [the measures] should not hurt European states harder than the Russian leadership.”
