Women pose topless beside German leader Olaf Scholz to protest against Germany’s reliance on Russian gas (photos)

Protesters posing topless flanked German chancellor Olaf Scholz to demonstrate against Berlin’s reliance on Russian gas.

The two women, whose bodies were painted with the words “gas embargo now”, staged the protest during an open-day event at the Chancellery in Berlin, where the German leader had been posing for photographs with members of the public.

The protesters were quickly led away by the chancellor’s security team.

This comes as Scholz faces strong criticism for not taking stronger actions against the Russian energy sector, following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine six months ago.

His party argues that a full energy embargo on Russia would lead to a severe economic fallout for Germany.

Instead, it has indicated that it will phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year and Russian gas imports by as early as mid-2024.