A very good article by SPIEGEL about the war in Ukraine through the "eyes" of the German top political beaumond in the context of pre-election processes in Germany itself.

ℹ️ It clearly demonstrates how Scholz's position may fundamentally disagree with the position of other German senior officials.

There was contempt in the chancellor's words. With a trembling voice , Olaf Scholz spoke last Saturday on the market square in Karlsruhe about what he thought of many military experts. About those who believe that the West should provide Ukraine with more military support in its struggle with Russia.

And there are always those who say: we must do this and we must do that! I have a feeling that foaming at the mouth doesn't get any better! There is no reason and nothing that makes any sense!

This was the devastating verdict of the document published a few days earlier by former NATO Secretary General Rasmussen together with Andriy Yermak, the head of the president's office in Kyiv. One of the demands: Western neighboring countries must install an air defense shield on their territory along the border with Ukraine to protect Western Ukraine from Russian missiles and drones. This would allow moving Ukrainian air defense systems to the east and south of the country to protect cities located near the front line.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin are among the signatories, who are not "hawks" of war, but Scholz, obviously, would be annoyed by it. This is his European election campaign, SPD is gaining only 14-15 percent, and staging of "peace" is gaining momentum in the country's squares.

💬 We do not want and will not become a party of war - shouted the chancellor in Karlsruhe to the applause of the crowd.

ℹ️ Scholz's call for restraint contrasts with the bitter reality in Ukraine. The Russians went on the offensive in eastern Ukraine. They ruthlessly exploit the weakness of the Ukrainian army, which lacks soldiers and ammunition. The situation was particularly tense in Kharkiv Oblast. In recent weeks, the Russians have been advancing with the goal of getting within artillery range of the regional center in order to terrorize its residents and force them to flee en masse. Although at the moment the Ukrainians seem to have managed to stabilize the situation, they had to withdraw troops from other areas of the front.

A central question in the foreign policy debate of the past two years is back on the agenda: Is the war with Putin escalating because the West is providing too little military aid, or could the war escalate if Germany and the US get even more involved in military action?

ℹ️ Like US President Biden, Scholz says he is taking a measured approach. He believes that Putin may retaliate if a country like Germany supplies weapons systems that will hit too far. That is why he opposes the supply of Taurus cruise missiles. And that is why he rejects the protection of Ukraine's airspace from NATO territory or the training of Ukrainian soldiers by NATO personnel in Ukraine.

ℹ️ But while the chancellor is in campaign mode, warning against escalating the war and praising German and American restraint, NATO's eastern European frontline powers fear that this very policy could provoke further escalation.

ℹ️ Last week, on the sidelines of a conference on foreign policy and security policy held in the capital of Estonia, Tallinn, deputies of the parliaments of the Baltic countries warned government representatives from Berlin about the consequences of German policy. Their argument is as follows: if the Russians manage to make a strategic breakthrough in the east of Ukraine due to the fact that the West is only half helping Kyiv, the situation could escalate sharply.

❗️ In this case, the Baltic states and Poland will not wait for the deployment of Russian troops on their borders - they will send troops to Ukraine themselves. And what this would mean was clear: NATO would become a party to the war.....