German navy chief quits after favourable Russia remarks cause spat
- Head of Germany’s navy came under fire at home and abroad for calling for ‘respect’ for Vladimir Putin
- Moscow has massed 100,000 troops along Ukraine’s borders, raising concerns in the West of a possible invasion
Ukraine summoned the German ambassador in Kyiv earlier Saturday to protest the remarks by Navy Inspector Kay-Achim Schoenbach, who also said Crimea would never return to Ukraine after its annexation by Russia in 2014.
“My position is increasingly burdened by the Ill-advised comments on security and military policy that I made in India,” Schoenbach said in a statement released by the German navy. Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht has accepted his resignation, he said.
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US predicts Russia will ‘move in’ on Ukraine as UK and Canada send arms and special forces
The latest US-Russian talks ended inconclusively this week. Aides to the Ukrainian, Russian, German and French leaders will probably meet on Wednesday in Paris, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, said by text message.
In the video, Schoenbach suggested Putin’s underlying goal was to win affirmation for Russia as a major power.