CDU leader Friedrich Merz has defended his stance towards Ukraine. He said the country is in a situation where it really needs more help. He called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to address a clear message to all Putin supporters.
CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz has accused Russia of war crimes following the rocket attack on the city of Poltava, which left numerous people dead and injured. “These are not normal acts of war. These are serious war crimes against the civilian population of Ukraine, once again,” the CDU chairman told the German Press Agency in Berlin. Once again, a school and the civilian infrastructure were affected, and as in recent days, there were concentrated attacks on the energy supply structure.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, two ballistic missiles hit the grounds of a university and a neighboring hospital. In terms of the number of casualties, the attack is considered one of the worst since the start of the Russian war of aggression more than two and a half years ago.
Merz said: “Perhaps now one or two critics will realize what this is all about. This is not a war between Ukraine and Russia, but rather a war of aggression by Russia, which violates international law, against a people who pose no threat whatsoever.”
Politicians, especially from the Left Party and the BSW, had repeatedly stressed that NATO was partly to blame for the war through its eastward expansion. Individual CDU politicians also spoke out against further arms deliveries to Ukraine and in favor of diplomatic efforts to end the war, including Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer.
Merz, on the other hand, had repeatedly advocated far-reaching support for Ukraine and visited Kyiv in front of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) after the outbreak of war in 2022. The CDU leader now stressed: “We hesitated too much, we helped too late.” Now we are “in a situation where we should actually help Ukraine even more. But the willingness to do so does not seem to me to be strong enough.”
He expects Scholz to address a clear message to those who still believe that “this problem can be solved with ingratiation and diplomacy.” Merz added: “This problem will only be solved when (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has to recognize the futility of further military action. He is far from that.”
Merz for use of Western weapons on Russian territory
When asked whether he was in favor of allowing Ukraine to use weapons supplied by the West on Russian territory, as Zelenskyj had demanded, Merz said: “I think we have unnecessarily placed restrictions on Ukraine’s ability to defend itself. That should not have happened from the start.”
Ukraine must be able to “defend itself comprehensively and it must also be enabled to attack the Russian army’s supply routes on Russian territory,” said Merz. He added: “If it does not do that, it will enter this conflict with its hands tied.”
dpa/sebe
