Germany's Scholz: Putin's war against Ukraine part of larger crusade against West

FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a news conference following a meeting with the housing minister on affordable housing space, in Berlin, Germany October 12, 2022. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz underscored the implications of the war in Ukraine for the West in a speech on Thursday, calling it part of a crusade by Russia against liberal democracy.

"(Russian President) Vladimir Putin and his enablers have made one thing very clear: this war is not only about Ukraine. They consider their war against Ukraine to be part of a larger crusade, a crusade against liberal democracy," said Scholz in a recorded speech at the Progressive Governance Summit in Berlin.