Zelensky seeks further air defence support and warns against pro-Russian rhetoric

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday warned that pro-Russian rhetoric posed a growing danger to EU nations, as he started a diplomatic whirlwind tour to shore up support for Kyiv’s battle against Russia.

In an illustration of the increasing headwind Kyiv faces to obtain backing, MPs from Germany’s far-right AfD and far-left BSW parties boycotted Zelensky’s address to parliament.

Both parties made huge gains in Sunday’s European elections, with the AfD scoring higher than all three parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition, while the BSW, a newcomer which campaigned against weapon deliveries to Ukraine, took just over six percent.

Zelensky cautioned that the pro-Kremlin parties’ stance posed a threat that stretched beyond Ukraine.

“It seems to me that the most important thing is that people did not choose pro-Russian populist rhetoric. But radical pro-Russian rhetoric is dangerous for your countries,” Zelensky warned.

READ ALSO: Zelensky arrives in Berlin to meet Scholz and address Bundestag

Ahead of a peace conference for Ukraine in Switzerland, to which Russia is not invited, parties like the AfD are pushing the message that the West’s current strategy to arm Ukraine will not bring an end to hostilities.

But Scholz, speaking at a Ukraine reconstruction conference in Berlin, vowed not to let up support for Kyiv.

Zelensky also pleaded for help.

“Russia’s greatest strategic advantage over Ukraine is superiority in the sky. It is missile and bomb terror that helps Russian troops advance on the ground,” Zelensky said, adding that “air defence is the answer”.

Germany has contributed three Patriot air defence systems to Kyiv, while Zelensky said a total of seven Patriots are needed for Ukraine to shield its urban centres from the storm of Russian missiles. Russian aerial attacks had already destroyed half of the country’s electricity production since winter, according to Zelensky.

Deutsche Bahn postpones opening of Stuttgart 21 to the end of 2026

Deutsche Bahn (DB) is postponing the commissioning of the Stuttgart 21 project to December 2026. This was announced by the group on Tuesday after a meeting with the project partners in Stuttgart. Previously, the new underground station was supposed to go into operation in December 2025.

Stuttgart 21 is the name of a DB project to build a new underground station at the city’s main station.  But the project also entails a complete reorganization of the Stuttgart rail hub.

New stations are being built, including a new long-distance station at the airport and dozens of kilometres of railways and tunnel tubes, culverts and bridges.

“To clear up a common misunderstanding: the 21 at Stuttgart 21 has never stood for a year of completion,” a railway spokesman told DPA, clarifying that 21 in the project name stands for the 21st century.

DB cites several points as reasons for the repeated postponement: lawsuits against the project and changed requirements, for example in fire protection. Other factors for the delays are the “geologically challenging subsoil in the Stuttgart city area” or complex approval procedures due to changed laws on species protection.

CDU leader rejects cooperation with the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW)

CDU leader Friedrich Merz has expressed his rejection of his party’s cooperation with the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), accusing the party of being right-wing extremist on some issues and left-wing extremist on others.

BSW leader, Sahra Wagenknecht reacted on Tuesday with sharp criticism of Merz. The CDU in Thuringia signalled continued openness to talks with the BSW – despite the announcement from Berlin.

In Thuringia, as well as in Saxony and Brandenburg, state elections are scheduled for September. With the AfD being the strongest force in all three states in the most recent elections, more centrist parties could have a difficult time forming a working majority coalition.

The BSW, on the other hand, achieved double-digit results in all three countries in the European elections from a standing start. If the party, which was only founded in January, can repeat this in the fall, it could become a power factor.

Merz was asked on Monday evening on ARD whether he was willing to think about cooperation or coalition with the BSW to prevent AfD prime ministers in the east. Rejecting the idea, the CDU leader said: “That is absolutely clear, we have always said this: we do not work with such right-wing extremist and left-wing extremist parties.”

READ ALSO: Germany’s far-right AfD sees strong gains in local eastern elections

Germany returns items to kin of Nazi victims in Poland

A German archive on Tuesday returned a watch, earrings and other personal effects to the families of Nazi victims in Poland as part of an ongoing campaign to honour those killed at concentration camps.

The items, which also included a brooch and a powder compact, were returned at a ceremony in Warsaw by the Arolsen Archives, which aim to retrace the fate of the Nazi regime’s 17.5 million victims.

The Archives contain around 30 million documents, including the archives of the SS and the Gestapo and records from the concentration camps, as well as hundreds of envelopes containing the personal items of former prisoners.

As part of its #StolenMemory campaign, the Archives have since 2016 worked to track down the descendents of camp victims and return their property in order to honour their memory.

“Each found family and each returned item is a gateway to reconstructing the fate of the victims and restoring their memory,” the Archives said in a press release.

READ ALSO: Germany plans Berlin memorial for Polish victims of Nazis

The event in the Polish capital was held in anticipation of the 80th anniversary of the doomed Warsaw Uprising against Nazi occupation.

The items returned Tuesday had belonged to two civilian Poles detained by the Nazis during the uprising and sent to their deaths at concentration camps.

With reporting by DPA.