Scholz: Europeans have reason to worry

Speaking at a Social Democrat Party conference in the southern German town of Friedrichshafen, Scholz confirmed that many people “are afraid and have reason for this”.

While pledging to continue supporting Ukraine militarily, he noted that Western countries need “to worry there is no escalation that could lead to a war between Russia and NATO”.

It is important to act with caution and determination at the same time,” he added.

Scholz's comments came after last month he warned against the unwary <x0-steps company” amid the conflict in Ukraine.

“There should be no direct conflict between Russia and NATO”, he stressed at the time.

With relations between the West and Russia already falling to new levels after Moscow launched its military operation in Ukraine, fears of a direct clash between Russia and NATO was recently triggered by a rocket in a Polish village near the Ukrainian border.

Shortly after the incident, the Polish Foreign Ministry claimed the missile was “produced by Russia”. Later, the country's authorities signalled that they could be called to Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, which allows each member of the bloc to seek consultations if he believes his security is in danger.

After the blast, Zelensky blamed Russia, calling the incident “a very serious escalation” and an attack on NATO that called for an answer. After all, however, Western officials acknowledged that the missile was Ukrainian, not Russian.

The Russian Defence Ministry denied any involvement in the incident, saying its military experts had analysed photos from the site and identified remains as part of an S-300 missile used by Ukraine.

Germany, along with many other Western countries, has offered Ukraine military equipment, including Geppard antiaircraft weapons, the numerous MARS missiles II and air defense system I RIS-T. Moscow has repeatedly warned that arms shipments will only prolong the conflict in Ukraine.