Putin's justification for war sign of 'vicious' cynicism: Steinmeier

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin's justification for the war in Ukraine as a sign of his "vicious" cynicism, reported dpa.

Speaking at a meeting with Ukrainian Holocaust survivors in Berlin, Steinmeier said: "Nothing shows as much as the fate of these Holocaust survivors how vicious is the cynicism with which this war has been justified by Putin."

Putin has argued that his invasion of Ukraine is an effort to stem fascism and to "de-Nazify" Ukraine.

Steinmeier was speaking to seven elderly Jewish people who are among dozens brought to safety from Ukraine to Germany after the war began. Most of them had already been displaced several times.

Now they were seeking protection "in the very city where the Holocaust was planned and organized, here in Berlin," Steinmeier said.