Comment: Germany is an increasingly helpless “number one partner” for Ukraine

Ukraine can rely on the Federal Republic. “Germany is our number one partner in the defense of Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the German-Ukrainian government consultations in April. And the state visit this Tuesday once again served to reinforce the alliance between Berlin and Kiev.

But Zelenskyj met a friend in Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is determined but also increasingly helpless. Despite all the military support that Germany provides, the future of Ukraine will be decided in Moscow and Washington - and not in Berlin.

The US government has announced peace talks with Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi next week – without the Europeans at the table. They are trying their best to play a role, as the recent telephone conversation between the heads of state from Finland and Norway and Russia's president shows. But with every call from Europe, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin can keep his ears open as long as US President Donald Trump doesn't abandon him.