Kay-Achim Schönbach

Kay-Achim Schönbach (born 9 July 1965 in Kassel) is a retired German vice admiral who served as the Inspector of the Navy of the German Navy from 24 March 2021 to 22 January 2022. Schönbach was forced to resign his position after his political remarks regarding the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian crisis and prospects of Ukraine and Georgia joining NATO sparked intense opposition from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

Life Kay-Achim Schönbach joined the Bundeswehr in 1984. He served in various positions in the German Navy, including being the commanding officer of the frigate Mecklenburg-Vorpommern from 2008 to 2010, through her service in the Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Atalanta off the Horn of Africa.

He then taught at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg from 2010 to 2012, commanded the 4th Frigate Squadron in Wilhelmshaven 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 from June to December 2016 and of the Mürwik Naval School 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.

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 later would join Bündnis Deutschland and become the leading candidate for the 2025 election.