"Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" states: "The president of the United States does not give Moscow an ultimatum to end her aggressive war – as he erstwhile did, and then he did not take any action – but he gives it to the victim of aggression. (...) The European leaders who spoke on the telephone on Friday in connection with dramatic developments and threats to the safety of all Europe were just as amazed by Trump and Putin's disastrous pact as the public.
... "But what if Trump doesn't care about European complaints as much as he does all the time? Europeans will then gotta decide whether they will besides quit Ukraine or yet give it decisive support so that it can stay Europe's first line of defence against Russian imperialism."
"Nuernberger Nachrichten" emphasises: "Now Putin and Trump are taking advantage of a phase in which Ukraine is twice weakened: the fresh corruption scandal shows how hard it will be to fight for actual democracy in this country if it survives the war. And Russian troops, for whom supply is unfortunately no problem, proceed their war of destruction, a metre by subway. Of course, ending this war would be a wonderful thing.
... "In Gaza, Trump showed that force could at least frost the conflict. But will this work now? Ukraine and Europeans must push for different conditions, but Putin would gotta quit what Trump has already promised him. In case of doubt, he will most likely proceed the war, hoping for even better spoils."
"Augsburger Allgemeine" criticises: "This plan rewards the aggressor. The goal behind him is clear: Ukraine is to become at best a partially sovereign, unstable structure. Kiev would be at the mercy of Moscow, deprived of economical centres in the east part of the country, with a truncated army and no chance of joining NATO.
"What is now on the table is the other of what constitutes the success of peace initiatives: the equitable balance of conflicting interests. Worse still, talks were not held with Kiev at all, but with the negotiators of Putin's war criminal, detailed discussions were conducted, seemingly with disturbing kindness. Nothing good can come of this.”
"Stuttgarter Nachrichten" does not hide the irritation: "It's a shame how Trump wants to push Ukraine into the function of the vassal state of his Russian colleague and friend Vladimir Putin. All she has left is simply a ceasefire and the promise of a notorious wordbreaker Putin not to resume the attacks. Additionally, there is an indeterminate promise of support from the capricious Trump.
... "If its unilateral plan comes into force, it will put the EU in a very hard position. It will then have only 2 options: it will either leave Ukraine to aggressive Russia, which will then be able to concentrate its strength entirely on Europe, or it will immediately adopt Ukraine, along with all the duties of assistance, all the demolition of war and all the traumas."
According to “Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung” of Heidelberg, “Trying for Europe to have something to say now is... just a request. The claim that Berlin had not previously been informed of the US initiative is more than unbelievable. The president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenski aptly summed up the current situation on Friday: his country faces a choice: the failure of dignity, or territorial integrity, or the failure of the only powerful ally that the United States is.
(...) "Now that Donald Trump withdraws from support for Ukraine, Europe's very limited military force is besides visible. Scaring – due to the fact that that's what it's all about – only works as long as it doesn't gotta take a applicable test. However, this will be much more bitter for Ukraine than for Europe. It must live in an unjust peace."
“Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung” thunders: “Ukraine is simply a victim of its own naivety. In the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, she agreed to hand over Russia all of her atomic weapons from russian times. In return, the United States, Russia, large Britain, France and China have guaranteed its security, sovereignty and respect for its current borders.
... "However, this did not halt the Russian president from entering neighboring Ukraine and conducting a barbaric war against civilians. It is so understandable that Kiev does not want to trust solely on guarantees, but besides on a strong army. Experience shows how small Russia's commitment to not attacking neighbouring countries means."
