Q&A: Ukraine's ambassador to Germany calls for 'courage' as war enters third year

Germany's election is less than two weeks away, with topics like migration dominating debates. But one issue seems to have been somewhat overlooked in recent weeks: Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Since the start of the full-scale war, Germany has pledged to stand firmly by Ukraine's side, providing military, financial, and humanitarian aid.

In the first TV debate between SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz and Friedrich Merz of the CDU, however, Ukraine played a secondary role behind topics such as migration and domestic security. While Germany's support was emphasised, both ruled out the country's NATO membership during the ongoing war.

Euronews sat down with Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, at the Ukrainian embassy in Berlin to ask him to assess how Germany stands by Ukraine, the merits of using the term 'hybrid warfare' — and why the war should matter more in the run-up to the snap elections on 23 February.

Euronews: The grim milestone of three years since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine is only a few weeks away. How has Germany progressed in these three years and does Germany really stand behind Ukraine?

Makeiev: I've been the ambassador to Germany since October 2022, and I’d say Germany has come a long way in these years. We still remember the 5,000 helmets and the widespread restraint across all political parties.

Now, two and a half years later, Germany has become our second most important and second-largest military supporter. My president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, recently said that 16 per cent of our military aid comes from Germany.

That has been my message from the start: every German can be proud of what the country has done so far.

A broad consensus has long been