Lviv – German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Friday that Germany would provide Ukraine with an additional €40 million ($45 million) in humanitarian aid as he met with EU foreign ministers in Lviv.
“We are showing here that Europe stands with Ukraine and are reminding people that the Nazi regime was also significantly defeated by Ukrainian soldiers,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said during an informal meeting of EU diplomats in the western Ukrainian.
The representatives acknowledged that many other groups who were then part of the Soviet Union helped to defeat Nazi Germany.
“We will not allow this day of remembrance, which is entirely justified, to be used to justify today’s war against Ukraine. That would be a distortion of history, which would do justice neither to Ukraine nor to Europe’s history as a whole,” he added.
After visiting a rehabilitation centre for severely injured soldiers and a cemetery with his colleagues, Wadephul expressed his shock. “This is a completely senseless war, one that claims victims every day.”
The German diplomat noted a spirit of solidarity with Ukraine among his EU colleagues: “We stand together.”
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Wadephul also welcomed US President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine as a first step towards a peace solution.
Following what he described as a “very positive, constructive” phone call between Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Trump on Thursday, the German government intends to continue involving the United States in the peace process.
Wadephul plans to discuss this further with his US counterpart Marco Rubio on Friday evening and hopes to meet Rubio in person as soon as possible.