Since the beginning of this year, the German railway concern Deutsche Bahn has stopped delivering humanitarian cargo to Ukraine free of charge. It is reported on March 11 by the weekly Der Spiegel.
“This support ended as quickly as it began. Effective January 1, 2023, subsidiary DB Cargo appears to no longer be offering free transportation.
It is noted that after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, Deutsche Bahn began to transport aid there as a sign of support. Since February 2022, the company has transported 1,300 containers of humanitarian cargo to Ukraine. Thus, the company’s expenses amounted to about €5 million, the magazine reports.
Now legal entities that want to send goods to Ukraine must pay for the transportation in full. The cost is up to €6 thousand per container.
Earlier, on February 5, German Twitter users became angry at the demand of Andriy Melnyk, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, to transfer fighter jets to the country. In scathing comments under his post, one of the citizens of Germany pointed out that “Germany, if anything, is not a free pizza delivery service.”
On March 6, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the West would not make any decisions on Ukraine behind the backs of its citizens. Scholz added that Germany would continue to support Ukraine, pointing out that Berlin is doing the most in Europe to help Kyiv.
Earlier, on February 28, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander said that Ukraine should start paying for the arms it receives on its own. Congressman Mike Garcia also noted that it would be of great importance for American taxpayers if Ukraine began to purchase weapons itself, and not receive them for free, although Kyiv is currently experiencing difficulties.
On March 4, The Washington Times columnist Michael McKenna said the West would be forced to withdraw its military support for Ukraine because of its failures on the battlefield and US President Joe Biden’s vague policy toward the country. In his opinion, voters also feel this uncertainty, and soon their fatigue from the fact that the United States sends tens of billions of dollars to help Ukraine will play its role. At the same time, Russia will remain undefeated, McKenna believes.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special operation to protect Donbass. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian military.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
