The Chancellor: The Remarkable Odyssey of Angela Merkel

Chapter 12 examines Angela Merkel’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine in 2014, a situation that forced her to take on a leading role as she was the only leader who could sit down and negotiate with Vladimir Putin. Merkel found the task difficult but demonstrated resilience throughout the process.

The chapter begins by discussing the geopolitical significance of Ukraine, a country with a tumultuous history marked by subjugation under both Hitler and Stalin. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine struggled with corruption and ineffective governance until 2014, when Russia began asserting its influence, causing a significant international crisis.

The crisis escalated in February 2014 when Ukraine was on the verge of signing a pivotal agreement with the EU, which was seen as a step toward political and economic integration with the West. Putin, intent on preventing this alignment, pressured Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to reject the EU deal in favor of joining Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union. This sparked massive protests in Ukraine, leading to Yanukovych’s removal from the presidency and his subsequent flight to Russia.

Afterward, Putin initiated a military intervention in the country’s Eastern region, Donbas, exploiting the weakness of the unprepared Ukrainian military and sowing chaos.