London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Ukraine's Zelensky calls on Germany to tear down Russian wall

Ukraine's Zelensky calls on Germany to tear down Russian wall

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told German MPs that a new type of Berlin Wall is being built, dividing Europe between freedom and oppression.

He thanked Germany for its support during Russia's invasion.

But it was uncomfortable listening for many MPs as he criticised German energy policy and business interests for contributing to that wall of division.

Over the past week, Mr Zelensky has given a master class in how to pitch his message to allies.

On Wednesday, he addressed US Congress, referring to Pearl Harbor and the 9/11 terror attacks. On Tuesday he asked Canada's parliament to envisage bombs and missiles falling on Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton.

Last week, his address to the House of Commons in London was partly a homage to Winston Churchill's wartime speeches.

His emotive speech to the German parliament, the Bundestag, was equally tailored to appeal to his audience with well-chosen historical parallels. Some of his audience grew up in communist East Germany behind the Berlin Wall.

During the Cold War, Germany's dogged negotiation and engagement with Moscow contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification.

Since then Germany has tried to use trade, business and energy links to integrate a peaceful Russia into the West.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine three weeks ago has destroyed many of those aspirations. The general political consensus in Germany now is that this may have been the wrong approach with Mr Putin's increasingly authoritarian and kleptocratic government.

President Zelensky expressed outrage that some German businesses were still operating in Russia. The controversial, now cancelled, Russian-German gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 was "cement for that new wall" dividing Europe, he said. Germany's continued reluctance to allow Ukraine into the European Union was "another brick" in that new wall.

"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this wall," he demanded of the German chancellor, repeating US President Ronald Reagan's historic demand to the Soviets in 1987 as he stood beside the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

Many German ministers listening will agree with him. The Green Party, which in the new governing coalition is now responsible for energy policy within the powerful Economy Ministry, has for years been campaigning against Nord Stream 2.

Even those who once supported the pipeline have changed their minds. Until recently Mr Scholz still referred to it as an non-political business matter.

But as Russian troops gathered on Ukraine's borders, shortly before the invasion, he unexpectedly announced the newly finished pipeline would not be opening after all.

Using another German Cold War analogy, in his speech President Zelensky said that Ukraine needed an airlift, and a no-fly zone to protect it, just as Cold War West Berlin had been saved by the Allied airlift in 1948-49.

He also reminded Germany of its responsibility to make up for Nazi crimes in Ukraine, saying Ukrainian towns and cities were being destroyed for the second time in 80 years.

This was a well-judged comment - Germany does guilt well. But for now there is no time for national bouts of repentance and soul searching.

President Zelensky's speech was greeted by long applause and standing ovations.

The main opposition party, the conservative CDU, expressed outrage that after the address the chamber went on to discuss normal parliamentary business, instead of debating the war in Ukraine. The transition certainly jarred as the parliamentary president announced, amid booing from opposition MPs, a scheduled birthday congratulation message.

Pressure is growing from Ukraine, and from German voters, to end German reliance on Russian energy imports.

The German government is planning to stop imports of Russian oil and coal this year, with an end to Russian gas as soon as other sources are found. Berlin argues that a sudden ban would harm Germany more than Russia, sparking mass unemployment here.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck is now on a whirlwind global tour to drum up energy from elsewhere. After a visit to Norway yesterday, he announced a deal to boost imports of Norwegian gas and this week he'll fly to Qatar.

This may not satisfy German voters. In polls a majority say they want an instant embargo on Russian energy. But then it may be impossible to fulfil the electorate's demands - in other surveys an overwhelming majority of German voters also say that energy costs are already too high.


Watch: Surrogate babies waiting for parents in a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
×