Latest news with #REUTERSBERLIN
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Germany's Merz condemns Russian ‘terror against civilians' in Ukraine
A police investigator walking near an apartment building damaged by a Russian drone strike, in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, on June 10. PHOTO: REUTERS BERLIN - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on June 10 slammed Russian 'terror against the civilian population' in Ukraine after Moscow escalated its bombardments there. Speaking at a press conference with his Dutch counterpart, Mr Dick Schoof, Mr Merz called the recent Russian attacks 'the most serious war crimes' and said Russia had 'attacked no military targets but the civilian population'. Mr Merz said that Russia's latest actions were 'anything but a proportionate response to the very precise Ukrainian attacks on military airfields and infrastructure in the last week'. 'Russia wanted to create a bloodbath and the fact that this only happened in a limited way is thanks to effective Ukrainian defence,' he said, adding: 'Once again, Russia is escalating instead of negotiating'. Mr Merz's comments come ahead of a Group of 7 summit in Canada on June 15-17 and a Nato meeting later in the month, where allies will push US President Donald Trump to be more aggressive in punishing the Kremlin. Mr Schoof agreed on the importance of supporting Kyiv, saying that Ukraine was fighting not only for its own security 'but also for the security of Europe... after a war of aggression that was started by Russia'. On the question of new sanctions on Russia from the European Union, Mr Merz said he had been in touch with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen in recent days 'and I encourage her to introduce this new round quickly'. 'There will be further sanctions on the banking sector, in the energy sector,' he said. Mr Merz said that while Kyiv's allies were 'ready for negotiations at any time, if negotiations are refused – and they are being refused on the Russian side', then the response must be 'military strength and massive economic pressure'. Ukraine's allies must send 'a signal of strength and deterrence' to Russia, Mr Merz said. 'This is unfortunately the only language that Moscow understands in the current weeks and months.' AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
01-06-2025
- Straits Times
Hospital fire in Germany kills three, patient suspect arrested
A police cordon at the Marienkrankenhaus hospital following a fire on June 1 in Hamburg, Germany. PHOTO: REUTERS BERLIN - German police said on June 1 that a 72-year-old patient had been arrested on suspicion of igniting a fire at a Hamburg hospital that killed three people and injured dozens more. The three casualties from the fire at the geriatric ward of the Marienkrankenhaus hospital were aged 84 to 87, and 34 others were injured, authorities said in an updated toll. The suspect will be presented before a judge on June 2 as investigators try to determine if he was suffering 'psychiatric' problems, police said in a statement. 'While interviewing witnesses it appeared that a 72-year-old patient could be strongly suspected of being at the origin of the fire,' police said. The fire began around midnight and threatened to spread to the first floor. 'Several elderly people with reduced mobility had to be evacuated along the corridors,' said fire service spokesman Lorenz Hartmann. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
