Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Ukraine conflict: Save energy and annoy Putin, Germans told

Ukraine conflict: Save energy and annoy Putin, Germans told

German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck has called on the public to cut energy use and stop using cars to help wean their country off Russian oil and gas.

"If you can take the train or bike over Easter, that's good too: it's easy on the wallet and annoys Putin," said Mr Habeck, who is also economics minister and co-leader of the Greens.

Germany has resisted European calls for a ban on Russian energy.

Ukraine's president has criticised the stance of both Germany and Hungary.

"We need to talk together with these countries on how it's possible for there to be different attitudes to this issue - the oil embargo within the European Union," Volodymyr Zelensky told the BBC.

He has argued that Russia does not need to take peace talks seriously because of the billions it receives from oil exports. Some of Ukraine's friends and partners now understood it was an issue of survival for Ukraine, he said.

Although German imports have fallen this year, it still gets a quarter of its oil and 40% of its gas from Russia. It has already halted the opening of a big Russian gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, in response to the war.

Earlier this week, German economic institutes warned that immediately halting Russian imports would spark a sharp recession in Europe's biggest economy by 2023.

Amid EU pressure to ban Russian oil, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has indicated that Germany could do so by the end of this year. However, some members of his coalition from the Greens and business-friendly FDP have accused him of failing to show leadership.

The head of parliament's defence committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who was part of a German delegation visiting Kyiv this week, said Germany's old, rigid world view had collapsed.

"Now is the time to lead and by doing so move forward together with our coalition," she added.

'Paying the price with lives'


Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has appealed to Berlin to make a quick decision on sending further heavy weapons. "Germany plays a leading role in Europe and we are counting on this leadership," he told German TV.

"We are paying the price with people's lives," he said, adding that if Germany had changed its approach earlier then war could have been prevented.

Mr Scholz's coalition partners are also pushing for Germany to send further heavy weapons to Ukraine. However, the economics minister said the German military had already delivered what it could without affecting its own operational capability.

German manufacturer Rheinmetall has offered to send Leopard 1 battle tanks, but Mr Habeck said they had to be refurbished and that could take months.

In his interview with the Funke news group, the Greens minister said every German could make a dent in their reliance on Russia by cutting their energy consumption by 10%.

Mr Habeck said lowering the temperature was perhaps not quite as comfortable but nobody would freeze.

Bosses should also consider offering staff the chance to work from home, as they did during the Covid-19 pandemic, for one or two days a week.

More than 330,000 refugees from Ukraine have registered in Germany since the start of the war, although the true figure is unclear.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
China Presses Netherlands to “properly” Resolve the Nexperia Seizure as Supply Chain Risks Grow
Merz Attacks Migrants, Sparks Uproar, and Refuses to Apologize: “Ask Your Daughters”
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
×