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Home» News»German Navy Chief Resigns Following Ukraine Crisis Comments
Euronaval 2022
German Navy Chief Resigns Following Ukraine Controversy
The official Twitter account of the German Navy chief is now showing that the position is "currently vacant".

German Navy Chief Resigns Following Ukraine Crisis Comments

The head of the German Navy resigned yesterday following controversial comments on the crisis in Ukraine. The announcement of Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach resignation was made by the Bundeswehr, Germany's Ministry of Defense.

Xavier Vavasseur 23 Jan 2022

Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach made the controversial remarks during a IDSA think-tank meeting in India. The admiral said Russia has no intention of invading Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin deserves respect. Video of the meeting was published on social media.

"Does Russia really wants a small tiny strip of Ukraine soil? Or integrate in the country, no this is nonsense..Putin is probably puting pressure, cz he knows he can do it & it splits the EU..but what he really wants is high level respect", says German Navy Chief in Delhi https://t.co/qDeqQp408X pic.twitter.com/MICZ0O7U78

— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) January 21, 2022

The remarks started a diplomatic row between Berlin and Kyiv with the later summoning the German ambassador.

The German Navy issued the following statement by Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach via press release on 22 January:

“I have just asked the Federal Minister of Defense to relieve me of my duties and responsibilities as Inspector of the Navy, effective immediately.
My ill-considered statements on security and military policy made in India are increasingly weighing on my office. In order to avoid further damage to the German Navy, the Bundeswehr, but above all to the Federal Republic of Germany, I consider this step necessary.
The Federal Minister has accepted my request.
The Commander of the Fleet and Deputy to the Chief of Naval Operations, Rear Admiral Kaack, will lead the German Navy until a successor decision is made.”

Vice Admiral Schönbach took command of the the German Navy less than a year ago, on 24 March 2021.

The controversy emerged while the German Navy Brandenburg-class frigate Bayern is about to complete a rare long duration deployment to the Indo-Pacific region. The frigate departed Colombo on 18 January.

German Navy 2022-01-23
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Authors

Posted by : Xavier Vavasseur
Xavier is based in Paris, France. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). Xavier has been covering naval defense topics for nearly a decade.

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