BERLIN — Germany has become Europe’s indispensable nation, at the center of crises over Ukraine and Greece. But a country uncomfortable with leadership, often labeled a reluctant hegemon, has had a rocky month.
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, was praised for trying to revive the Minsk cease-fire deal over Ukraine with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, but the effort, thrown together to try to forestall Washington from providing defensive arms to the Ukrainian government, has thus far failed.
Ukrainian separatists supported by Russian forces drove a column of tanks through an apparent loophole in the agreement, claiming that it did not cover the key town of Debaltseve. They took the town, cutting off Ukrainian soldiers.
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A version of this article appears in print on March 1, 2015, on page A10 of the New York edition with the headline: Germans at the Crux of Crises, but Reluctantly. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
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