Kay-Achim Schönbach (born 9 July 1965 in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

) is a retired German

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

who served as the

Inspector of the Navy The Inspector of the Navy () is the commander of the Navy of the modern-day German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr. Since the various bodies responsible for the high command of the German Navy were merged in 2012, the Inspector has been based at th ...

of the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

from 24 March 2021 to 22 January 2022. Schönbach resigned his position after his political remarks regarding the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian crisis and prospects of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

joining

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

sparked intense opposition from the

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (, ) is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees the foreign relations of Ukraine. The head of the ministry is the Minister of Foreign Affairs. History Originally, the ministry was establ ...

Life

Kay-Achim Schönbach joined the

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

in 1984. He served in various positions in the German Navy, including being the commanding officer of the frigate ''

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), also known by its Anglicisation, anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a Federated state, state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's States of Germany, sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpom ...

'' from 2008 to 2010, through her service in the

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

and

Operation Atalanta Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is an ongoing counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the ...

off the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. He then taught at the

Bundeswehr Command and Staff College The Bundeswehr Command and Staff College (, ''FüAkBw'') is the Staff college, General Staff College (''Senior Military Academy'') of the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, established in 1957 as the successor of the Prussian Military Academy, ...

in Hamburg from 2010 to 2012, commanded the 4th Frigate Squadron in

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

from 2012 to 2014 and headed the Division for the Europe/Eurasia and Arctic region in the Military Policy and Operations Department at the Federal Ministry of Defence from 2014 to 2016. Schönbach's subsequent assignments included being the commander of the

Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) standing maritime immediate reaction force. SNMG2 consists of four to six destroyers and frigates. Its role is to provide NATO with an immediate operational r ...

from June to December 2016 and of the

Mürwik Naval School The Naval Academy Mürwik () is the main training establishment for all German Navy officers and in 1910 replaced the German Imperial Naval Academy in Kiel (which is now the seat of government or ''Landeshaus'' of Schleswig-Holstein). It is lo ...

from January 2017 to May 2018, when he became Deputy Head of Strategy and Operations at the Federal Ministry of Defence. On 24 March 2021 he was appointed the Inspector of the Navy, succeeding Vice Admiral Andreas Kraus.

Resignation

Schönbach's talk on 21 January 2022 at the

Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), is an Indian think tank for advanced research in international relations, especially defence, strategic and security issues. It also provides training to civilian, military ...

(MP-IDSA) think tank in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, amid the growing tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian border, made international news headlines and caused a political controversy. The admiral said that Russia's alleged intention to invade Ukraine was "nonsense" and that Ukraine would never be able to regain

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. He further added that

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

"wants and probably also deserves respect", Ukraine was not ready to join NATO, and while Georgia met the requirements, it would not be "smart" to admit the country into the alliance. Schönbach also said that "Russia is an old country and important country, we need Russia because China" without mentioning that Russian Federation and Ukraine both declared their independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany Andriy Melnyk said that Schönbach's "patronising attitude subconsciously also reminds Ukrainians of the horrors of the Nazi occupation, when Ukrainians were treated as subhuman.” Schönbach also told his interlocutors being a "very radical Roman Catholic" himself and suggested that "Russia is a Christian country" and the country is needed against China "even if Putin is an atheist, it doesn’t matter”. In response, the

summoned the German ambassador in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

to protest Schönbach's comments, while the German government stated that the admiral's remarks did not reflect Germany's position. On 22 January, Schönbach resigned his command "to avoid any more damage being done to the German navy and above all, to the German federal republic".

Political activity

Schönbach is a former member of Christian-conservative CDU. In early 2024, he left the party and joined the newly founded right-wing

Values Union The Values Union (, WU) is a German party founded on 17 February 2024 by transforming a seven-year-old registered association with the same name.Bündnis Deutschland ''Bündnis Deutschland'' (BD, ) is a minor German political party founded in November 2022. It is led by Steffen Grosse, the former leader of the Free Voters of Saxony and a former Christian Democratic Union member. It describes itself as politic ...

and become the leading candidate for the 2025 election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schönbach, Kay-Achim 1965 births Living people Vice admirals of the German Navy Chiefs of Navy (Germany) NATO military personnel