After a week of frantic diplomacy that included a visit to Berlin by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government found itself scrambling at the weekend to reassure Kyiv of its support amid fears of a Russian invasion.
The spat was triggered by German navy chief Kay-Achim Schoenbach's musings that it was "nonsense" to think Russia was about to march on Ukraine and that President Vladimir Putin deserves respect.
Schoenbach resigned late Saturday, but the damage was done.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba summoned the German ambassador and accused Germany of "encouraging" Putin to attack Ukraine.
Scholz on Sunday warned again of "high costs" should Russia attack, in an interview with the Sueddeutsche newspaper.
But with trademark caution, he also called for "wisdom" in considering sanctions and "the consequences they would have for us".
The Ukraine crisis is the first major test for Social Democrat Scholz, who took over from veteran leader Angela Merkel last month.
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