Speaking at a joint press conference with Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, Scholz said he “never expected that everything would change from one day to the next” but added the Ukrainian defense forces had been planning operations “in a very targeted way”.
Meanwhile, Ciolacu said Romania had expected the conflict to end with the Ukrainian counteroffensive but has had to reckon with a longer-lasting conflict.
While Ukraine remains in a state of war, it cannot become a NATO member, Scholz said, adding that the criteria for NATO membership included “no open border conflicts”. However, the important thing, he said, was NATO’s “great practical support for Ukraine, which will continue. “Germany has created the conditions to support Ukraine even if the war lasts for a long time”, the German chancellor added.