Hindsight may be 20/20, but the soft-pedaling on Russia by the former chancellor of Germany hardly stands Ukraine, or the rest of Europe, in good stead.

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel writes in her memoir, Freedom: Memoirs 1954 - 2021, that Russian leader Vladimir Putin planned his invasion of Ukraine after her resignation in order to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO.

Angela Merkel's latest book will be released on Tuesday. In it, the former Chancellor of Germany reveals why she blocked Ukraine's aspirations for a quick accession to NATO in 2008. An excerpt from the former Chancellor's book was published on Thursday by the magazine "Die Zeit.