German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday for the first time publicly called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal, saying Europe must step up pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.
“He is a war criminal. Possibly one of the most serious war criminals of our time,” Merz said in an interview with broadcaster Sat.1, Deutsche Welle reported. “We must be clear about how to deal with war criminals. There can be no leniency.”
Merz argued that Putin sees no reason to agree to a ceasefire and said Europe should work to bring about Russia’s “economic exhaustion,” for example by placing tariffs on countries that continue trading with Moscow.
German magazine Der Spiegel noted that while Merz has previously accused Russia of committing “grave war crimes,” this was the first time he personally labeled Putin a war criminal.
The Kremlin quickly dismissed the remarks. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Merz had made “a great many unpleasant statements in recent hours.”
In office since May 6, Merz is moving fast to reinforce Western support for Ukraine. The new chancellor has recently announced his decision to officially lift range restrictions on weapons that Germany supplied to Ukraine and declared that Kyiv should not make any concessions.
In July, Merz declared that Germany would play a “decisive role“ in a new deal struck between NATO and the United States to supply Ukraine with weapons to fight Russia’s invasion.
“The US is ready to provide Ukraine with weapons that will be financed by European partners. Germany wants to make a significant contribution to this. We need to discuss the details with our partners as soon as possible,” Merz said.
Following a Russian attack on Kyiv that killed 25 people on Aug. 28, Merz and French leader Emmanuel Macron agreed to send additional air-defence hardware to Ukraine and to open a strategic dialogue about nuclear deterrence.