Germany leader heads to Kyiv to calm ‘critical’ Russia war threat

KYIV: German Chancellor Olaf Schulz arrived in Kiev on Monday before visiting Moscow to try to deal with the “extremely critical” threat of a Russian invasion that could lead to the worst crisis since the Cold War.

German leaders visit the two capitals in the same order as French President Emmanuel Macron did last week in an attempt to quell the drumbeat of war in Eastern Europe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has surrounded Ukraine on almost all sides, with more than 100,000 troops, and NATO is at a high stake with the West following the expansion of Kremlin-controlled countries after the Soviet Union.

The West has remained united in its opposition to Putin’s demands for security guarantees that would allow NATO to withdraw its forces and reject Ukraine’s possible membership in the alliance.