German chancellor says war in Ukraine still far from over

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz does not expect the war in Ukraine to end soon.

As reported by Die Zeit, Merz noted after a meeting with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in Turku that wars usually end in economic or military exhaustion of one or both sides.

"In this war, we are obviously far from that," the German chancellor said.

Merz accused Russia of being unwilling to negotiate. He said that if the Russian government is not ready to accept Vatican mediation, it means that Russia is not interested in a truce or peace agreement.

As a result, "we have to further strengthen our efforts so that Ukraine can defend itself," Merz said.

He also announced his intention to increase pressure on Russia. "We are under threat, and we will defend ourselves," he said.

On Monday, Merz said that Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States had lifted all restrictions on Ukraine regarding the range of strikes.

On Tuesday, he clarified that his statement did not refer to a new decision but described what happened several months ago.