German Navy Chief Resigns Over Ukraine Comments

The head of the German navy, Admiral Kay-Achim Schoenbach has resigned after coming under fire for saying that Ukraine would never regain the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

He was speaking at an event in New Delhi, India, on Friday, as he said also that it was important to have Russia on side and suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin deserved “respect”.

Schoenbach had earlier said that; “Is Russia really interested in having a tiny strip of Ukraine’s soil? No. Putin is probably putting pressure because he knows he can do it and he knows that it splits the European Union."

“What Putin really wants is respect. And my God, giving someone respect is low cost, even no cost. It is easy to give him the respect he really demands and probably also deserves."

The comments came at a sensitive time as Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine’s borders.

Schoenbach’s comments caused anger in Ukraine and the German ambassador was summoned to receive its objections.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba called on Germany to publicly reject the navy chief’s comments, saying in a statement that; “Ukraine is grateful to Germany for the support it has already provided since 2014, as well as for the diplomatic efforts to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict."

"But Germany’s current statements are disappointing and run counter to that support and effort."

By late Saturday, Schoenbach had presented his resignation, saying he wanted to prevent further damage to Germany and its military.