Wladimir Klitschko: “We don’t need NATO soldiers, we need weapons”

German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) is open to the supply of German Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) recently clearly rejected this, pointing out that Germany would then run the risk of becoming a party to the war. Buschmann sees a solution in this justification. “That can also be a bridge,” he said on Tuesday evening in “Maischberger” and took over a suggestion from Wladimir Klitschko.

For security reasons, the fact that the former world boxing champion would be a guest in the studio was only made public shortly before the broadcast of the recorded talk show. “We don’t need German soldiers, we don’t need NATO soldiers,” the brother of Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko emphasized when Sandra Maischberger asked about the operation of the Taurus cruise missiles. “We have enough people to do this,” he said.

Despite initial doubts, Ukrainian soldiers also learned to operate Marder or Leopard tanks much faster than expected, Klitschko recalled. Buschmann followed this up shortly afterwards with reference to the German Taurus air-to-surface cruise missile.

“If it is about avoiding the deployment of German soldiers, which is a real argument, then perhaps that is also a bridge to supporting Ukraine with this system,” said the Justice Minister, who wanted this to be an “unusual clear” statement from a member of the federal government. The liberal supported the position of his party colleague Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. This has long argued for the weapon system to be delivered to Ukraine.

“I believe that the federal government should do everything it can to ensure that Ukraine wins this war. And we do that too,” says Buschmann. Klitschko saw things differently after two years of war. “The free world is failing us and not giving us enough to protect ourselves,” he lamented.

Ukraine also defends German security, Klitschko said, referring to Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. For Germany, the war was actually just a row of houses away. Children and women are raped and murdered there. “They hear the scream, but they don’t even call the police,” he said.

The fact that French President Emmanuel Macron even proposed sending soldiers to Ukraine was met with criticism. “I think this debate about French soldiers or NATO soldiers is a distraction from the topic. We need ammunition, we need much better weapons. We don’t need soldiers, we have the soldiers.”

But after two years on the front, the volunteer Ukrainian fighters are at the end of their strength. “Of course they need to be replaced. And that requires mobilization. And that has to happen early on. We were too late in Ukraine,” Klitschko said. There are an estimated 200,000 Ukrainian men of military age in Germany, Maischberger replied: “What do you say to them?”

Some of these men should come back to Ukraine, Klitschko demanded: “It is a moral obligation.” But his country could possibly do without these soldiers if only it had more and better weapons. Peace negotiations are possible at any time once all Russian troops completely leave Ukrainian territory.

“Of course we are tired of the war,” said Klitschko, who said he had recently visited the front.

According to ZDF’s former French correspondent Theo Koll, Macron’s move to possibly send ground soldiers to Ukraine also reflected the strained relationship with Scholz. ‘They can’t stand each other. They couldn’t be more different,” he said. “They are both kicking each other in the shin, and it is extremely shameful for these two nations.”

At the same time, a bold move like Macron’s could upset the opponent: “We are too clear in our behavior towards Putin about where our borders are.”

If that was Macron’s aim, he missed it, said Dagmar Rosenfeld, editor-in-chief of ‘Welt am Sonntag’. It was immediately emphasized in unison that no one had any intention of officially sending NATO soldiers to Ukraine. (The fact that Britain has long since stationed personnel in Ukraine to ensure that British missiles are not aimed at Russian territory is an unconfirmed assumption.) “That plays into Putin’s hands if this dissent exists openly,” Rosenfeld said.