Merz, a candidate for chancellor of Germany, assessed Ukraine's prospects in the conflict

German chancellor candidate and leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Friedrich Merz said on February 13 that he is extremely pessimistic about Ukraine 's prospects in the conflict.

"Right now I am very pessimistic about Ukraine's prospects. And I firmly believe that one day we will all look back and say that we did not help Ukraine fast enough, not clearly enough and not well enough," Merz said on ZDF TV.

He added that Russia could allegedly attack the Baltic states if it wins the Ukrainian conflict. Also, the candidate for chancellor clarified that in such a development, one should not expect American support due to the recent actions of US President Donald Trump's administration.

Sense of contact: Putin and Trump agree on diplomatic solution to Ukraine crisis

In an hour and a half, they also discussed prisoner exchanges, the situation in the Middle East and the Iran nuclear deal

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on 12 February that there were signals from Ukraine that it was ready to make territorial concessions in order to settle the conflict.