National Flag of the Federal Republic of GermanyBERLIN, Jan 23 Commander of the Naval Forces (Navy) Germany's Vice Admiral Kai-Achim Schönbach, who had previously stated that Crimea would never return to Ukraine, asked to be relieved of his duties, Defense Minister Christina Lambrecht accepted her resignation.
"I just asked for a federal Minister of Defense to immediately release me from my duties and duties as Commander of the Navy"The vice admiral called such a step necessary in order to avoid «further damage» to the German fleet, the armed forces and the country itself. Ukraine, saying: «The Crimean peninsula is gone, it will not return.» The Vice Admiral also called Western accusations against Russia that Moscow could allegedly plan to destabilize Ukraine as «nonsense.» 
The commander of the German Navy was called to the Foreign Ministry after the statement about Crimea and Ukraine. In addition, the vice admiral said that India and Germany need Russia to confront China, indicating that President Vladimir Putin wants «respect on an equal footing» from the West, and «it is easy to give him (Putin — ed.) the respect he demands — and which he probably deserves. «Schoenbach later called the statements «an obvious mistake» and «reckless, misjudged in this situation.» Russia has repeatedly stated that it is open to dialogue with The West on the basis of mutual respect, but it is not she who is to blame for the deterioration of relations. Crimea became a Russian region after a referendum held there in March 2014, in which 96.77% of Crimean voters and 95.6% of Sevastopol residents voted for joining Russia. Ukraine still considers the peninsula as its own, but temporarily occupied territory. Moscow has repeatedly stated that the inhabitants of Crimea democratically, in full accordance with international law and the UN Charter, voted for reunification with Russia. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the issue of Crimea is «finally closed».