German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Russia's war in Ukraine had reduced the European security order to ashes.

BBC Ukraine reported this with reference to the full text of Steinmeier's speech at the Bellevue Palace, which was published on the official website of the President of Germany.

"On February 24, Putin didn't just break the rules and end the game. He threw the chessboard on the floor!" Steinmeier emphasized.

He described Russia's actions as "a brutal war of conquest."

"In his imperial obsession, the Russian president violated international law, seized land, and questioned borders. The Russian attack is an attack on all the lessons the world has learned from two world wars," the German president said.

According to Steinmeier, global security is deteriorating, there is a struggle for dominance, and China wants to increase its economic and political influence.

"This struggle will shape international relations for the foreseeable future. The world is on the path to a phase of confrontation, although it depends on cooperation more than ever. Climate change, species loss, pandemics, hunger and migration - none of this can be solved without a willingness to cooperate internationally," - says the President of Germany.