Germany says Russia using "distraction tactics" to deflect from war in Ukraine

Germany has rejected accusations from Russia that its support for Ukraine is motivated by revenge for past military defeats, calling the claims an attempt to distract from Moscow’s current actions.

Speaking during a meeting with New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters in the Bay of Islands on New Zealand’s North Island, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Russia was trying to divert attention from its conduct in Ukraine. He stressed that Germany had no difficulty critically examining its own history and fully acknowledged the role of the Soviet Union in the defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II, Caliber.Az reports per German media. 

Wadephul said Germany recognised that victims of Nazi aggression included people from Ukraine as well as other nations of the former Soviet Union, adding that this historical reality was not disputed in Germany. However, he made clear that Berlin would not accept attempts to use history to silence criticism of Russia’s present-day actions.

He added that Germany would continue to speak out clearly about Russia’s criminal conduct.

Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused Germany of pursuing a Ukraine policy driven by what it called revenge fantasies.

In a written statement released following Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s annual press conference at the start of the year, the ministry said the German government was no longer concealing what it described as an obsession with "avenging past defeats against Russia.

By Sabina Mammadli