AFP, Frankfurt

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday called for diplomatic efforts to be intensified to achieve peace in Ukraine “more quickly”, as the war grinds through its third year.

The call comes as Scholz is under growing pressure at home amid signs of public fatigue with the conflict that started with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“I believe that now is the time to discuss how we can get out of this war situation and achieve peace more quickly,” Scholz told public broadcaster ZDF, in an annual summer interview.

The far-right AfD and far-left BSW parties -- who both want to end weapons deliveries to Ukraine -- made huge gains in two regional elections in Germany last week, while Scholz’s coalition parties received a bruising.

Germany is the second largest contributor of aid to Ukraine after the United States, and Scholz’s government has repeatedly pledged to keep up the support for “as long as it takes”.

Scholz said Russia should attend the next international peace summit on ending the war, after Moscow was excluded from the first one. “It’s important that we make progress,” Scholz said.

On the ground, Russia yesterday said its forces had advanced in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv reported deadly air attacks and urged the West to allow it to carry out more retaliatory strikes inside Russia’s borders.

Two people were killed yesterday in a Russian air strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, the capital of the region from where Ukraine poured troops and tanks across the border into Russia in its shock counter-attack.