German minister suspects Putin talk of ending war a 'deception' | DW News

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-11

[00:00:01]Now, the German government has dismissed recent signals from Russia's President Vladimir Putin that he may be willing to end the war in Ukraine. Speaking in Kev, the German defense minister Boris Ptorius said Putin is trying to distract attention from his own weakness and can point to a few territorial gains in Ukraine. Historius said a three-day ceasefire over the weekend has already been broken and he was skeptical about Putin's motives.

[00:00:34]>> There's always the fear, I hope I'm wrong, that this is yet another deception, but it can't be ruled out and it seems to be part of his hybrid warfare because that too has become part of the reality of recent years. Whenever there have been talks about a ceasefire or peace, he has ultimately played with a stack deck or behave completely differently than what was agreed upon or suggested in the talks.

[00:01:03]>> Germany's defense minister speaking in the Ukrainian capital. Let's cross state over to Kev where our correspondent Nick Connley is standing by. Nick, Vladimir Putin has suggested that former German Chancellor Gahhat Schura could serve as a mediator in talks with Ukraine. Did did the German defense minister comment on that?

[00:01:24]Terry, he didn't go anywhere near the name of Ghata. He did though in his initial remarks preemptively raise this topic of that seemingly uh kind of negotiation offer coming from Moscow from Vladimir Putin there. and while not mentioning Schlud or any other surnames said that as we heard in that clip there this doesn't seem like a genuine offer of really constructive talks and any kind of sense that there are any kind of concessions coming from the Russian side. So obviously that was the top question in all the journalist minds that were accompanying Pastorius on this visit here to Ukraine and you pastor is definitely seen as one of the German ministers that is most committed to supporting Ukraine. His ministry is obviously the one that is in charge of probably the biggest budget in terms of supporting Ukraine, the military support. Germany is now Ukraine's number one financial supporter since US support has basically disappeared under Trump.

[00:02:19]And I think there was a kind of attempt there from Ptorius to kind of manage expectations and to keep people focused on the purpose of his visit which is about further military cooperation support for Ukraine but also Ukrainian support for Germany and things like AI and drones and to basically you know take takes kind of some of the emphasis away from this announcement from Moscow that's gained a lot of attention.

[00:02:41]>> Nick a ceasefire has been in place between Russia and Ukraine over the past few days. Uh where do things stand with that ceasefire right now?

[00:02:53]>> So today is the final day of this ceasefire that Russia announced without asking Ukraine about it. And it has never actually come to fruition on the front lines. When you talk to units there, they say sometimes they might have seen a bit less in the way of artillery fire, but drones, other weapons being used just as before. In some places even more than before. But there has been a pause in long-range missile strikes on Kev on other big Ukrainian cities. Uh but there is now very much the expectation here in Ukraine that that will one well well and truly be over. The Russian side has said that they are not planning to extend it and indeed there are signs that Russia has moved some of its bomber aircraft closer to Ukraine's borders expectation that maybe there might be a big missile attack here in the next couple of days.

[00:03:35]Uh so no real sense of progress and certainly still the perception here in Ukraine that this was all about just making that parade on the 9th of May in Moscow possible for Vladimir Putin, not about any kind of real willingness to end this war.

[00:03:48]>> The German defense minister's visit to Ukraine. It wasn't publicly known beforehand. Can you tell us Nick what the purpose of his visit is? Boris Pastorius what's he doing there?

[00:04:03]Well, certainly this is about showing that Ukraine is still a priority. He said he'd been here seven times during wartime and that is uh obviously a huge commitment because you have to come in by train. It's basically 24 hours journey each way. Um but he was also keen to kind of underline the fact that this isn't a situation in which Ukraine is asking for things from Germany, asking for money, asking for weapons, but also that Ukraine now has this unparalleled experience of 21st century warfare. has all that data from the battlefield, data on how 21st century warfare works, but also how the Russians are fighting. That is really crucial for the kind of AI models of the future. Um, some differences of opinion there between Ukraine and Germany about what kinds of companies to work with.

[00:04:43]Palanteer, that controversial US company, very big here in Ukraine.

[00:04:47]Germany seemingly reluctant to work with them. But certainly a lot that Ukraine can also provide in terms of data, in terms of drones that the German army is only just now getting its head around.

[00:04:57]So I think boys posto here trying to on the one hand show that this is still very much priority for him and for Germany and that German sport isn't going anywhere but also trying to make it clear to people back home in Germany that this is also a country that is going to show the way how Germany and its army can prepare for the threat coming from Russia. We've heard from Germany's top general time and time again he says Russia could attack uh by 2029. So that is something that is you know foremost in people's minds.

[00:05:24]What about the war itself, Nick? Can you tell us where things stand right now? Is either side making significant progress on the front lines militarily?

[00:05:38]>> Well, the biggest picture, the bigger picture is obviously that things are moving a lot more slowly than they did in the first year of this war. Russia, we believe, is in the midst of trying to kind of set up a new summer offensive, but it isn't making very fast progress.

[00:05:54]There are just now so many Ukrainian drones on the battlefield by some accounts. You know, Ukraine now significantly outpacing Russia in terms of the availability of certain types of drones on the battlefield that they are encountering very significant losses and, you know, picking up a whole lot less territory uh than they have been in previous years. Um, obviously Ukraine is still struggling to mobilize to recruit enough people for the for for its military, but they are now hoping that technology can make up some of that gap.

[00:06:23]>> Nick, thank you very much. uh our correspondent Nick Connley there in the Ukrainian capital Ke.