The full-scale Russian invasion on February 24 changed the vector of Ukrainian-German relations: from an economic and energy partner, Germany has become an important ally of Ukraine in the security and defense sphere. At the same time, given the ongoing discussions in the Ukrainian and German media, it may seem that Germany is not helping Ukraine enough, which has suffered from Russian aggression for nine months.

All this gives reason to reflect on Germany’s policy toward Ukraine and its role in the Russian-Ukrainian war. This was discussed today by Ukrainian experts and officials with German Ambassador to Ukraine Anka Feldhusen at the tenth German breakfast “Zeitenwende: What is the place of Ukraine in Germany’s foreign policy?”.

“Since February 24, Germany has made a quantum leap in its policy toward Ukraine and Russia, but we still need a Zeitenwende (change) in the minds of certain politicians, government officials, and German citizens,” one of the participants of the event aptly noted.

The event was the final tenth in a series of German breakfasts in Kyiv organized by the New Europe Center in partnership with the Institute for European Policy (Berlin) for several years. It is noteworthy that the Ambassador of Germany opened our first German breakfast in March 2020.

At the event, the discussants in a confidential off-the-record format covered a wide range of issues related to Germany’s policy towards Ukraine in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war:

• Germany’s vision of Ukraine’s victory and attitude to potential negotiations with Russia.
• Germany’s role and position on Ukraine’s accession to the EU and NATO.
• Germany’s policy towards Russia after February 24.
• Germany’s information policy in the context of relations with Ukraine and the importance of cooperation and communication with German MPs and government officials.
• Providing assistance to Ukraine, including weapons and Germany’s financial contribution to Ukraine’s reconstruction.

“Germany is the engine in Europe and the EU, which is why we tend to expect more from Germany,” summarized one of the breakfast participants.

A photo report from the event is available here.

“German breakfasts” is a unique format that takes place in Kyiv regularly. This is a continuation of the “Ukrainian Breakfasts” series, which has been organized by the Institute of European Policy in Berlin since 2017. The German Breakfasts initiative was launched to discuss the views of German experts and decision-makers on events in Ukraine and Germany, and to establish a professional dialogue between experts from both countries.

The event is part of the German Ukrainian Researchers Network (GURN) project. GURN aims to create a German-Ukrainian expert network, strengthen expertise in policy analysis and promote joint research projects. GURN is initiated by the Institute of European Policy (Berlin) in close cooperation with the Ilko Kucheriv Foundation for Democratic Initiatives (Kyiv), the Think Twice UA think tank (Kyiv), the New Europe Center (Kyiv), with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany.