Russia’s war against Ukraine may escalate

“In view of the development of the war and Russia’s evident and growing setbacks…we must be prepared for the escalation,” Scholz told a conference in Berlin organized by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

Scholz said his recent trip to China made it useful to define the two countries’ joint position against the use of nuclear weapons.

During their visit to China earlier this month, Scholz and Chinese President Xi Jinping denounced threats of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Scholz said the 100 billion euro defense fund announced after Russia’s invasion was the result of a lesson learned from the German military’s buildup of defense stockpiles.