After a dramatic escalation of the Ukraine crisis in recent days, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz plans to travel to Kiev on Monday to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In purely formal terms, it is his inaugural visit as chancellor some two months after being sworn in. But the short visit to the Ukrainian capital will be dominated by rising tensions with Russia and the latest warnings of war from the US. “Ukraine can be sure that we will show the necessary solidarity, as we have in the past,” Scholz said on Sunday before his departure. The chancellor is expected to pledge further eco…