German former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder called on Thursday for the war in Ukraine to end as soon as possible and for Europe's remaining ties with Russia not to be cut, according to Reuters.

"There have been many mistakes on both sides. But Russia's security interests do not justify the use of military means either," Schroeder wrote in a post on LinkedIn.

"With the necessary sanctions, care must be taken not to completely cut the remaining political, economic and civil society ties that exist between Europe and Russia."