Der Spiegel: Merz supports sending German soldiers to Ukraine
"Irresponsible" is how Friedrich Merz once referred to the possible deployment of Bundeswehr soldiers to Ukraine. Now he himself is igniting a discussion that promises to be heated, writes Der Spiegel. The chancellor, who claims to be a leader in Europe, is not at all opposed to sending German soldiers to East.
Paul-Anton Kruger and Christoph Schult
The Willard Hotel in Washington is just a few hundred meters from the White House. Chancellor Friedrich Merz makes a bit of a fuss as he ascends the podium on Monday evening, with the German flag and the blue flag of the European Union next to him. The talks at the White House lasted two hours longer than originally planned. Due to the established rest rules, the crew of the Airbus A319 aircraft of the German Air Force at Dulles Airport has only a few minutes before takeoff. Nevertheless, Merz decided to share his opinion about the summit of European leaders with US President Donald Trump.
He highly appreciates the atmosphere and once again welcomes President Trump's statement on the provision of security guarantees to Ukraine. These guarantees, he said, "required very lengthy and intensive discussions." Of course, the European partners and the American government needed to discuss who would participate and to what extent. And "it is quite obvious to me that we, as the Federal Republic of Germany, are also interested in participating in this process and bear great responsibility for it." The question of to what extent will be discussed in Europe, and he will, of course, discuss it with the coalition in Berlin, Merz says, "up to the question of whether we need to make decisions requiring a mandate" in the Bundestag.
It was this phrase that made Berlin wary. The Bundeswehr is a parliamentary army. "The use of the German armed forces outside the scope of the constitution requires the approval of the Bundestag," the relevant law says. This is the first time the Chancellor has raised the issue of such a use of troops here in Washington.
By doing so, he immediately sparked a discussion in the German capital, located about 7,000 kilometers from Washington, about the possible deployment of German soldiers in the event of an agreement between Ukraine and Russia and the need to ensure a peaceful settlement with the help of military forces.
Such a deployment of troops will not be popular among the population.
Opinions were divided in both coalition parties on whether the Bundeswehr should or could accomplish such a task. "We are talking about giving Ukraine binding guarantees, including military guarantees, that in the event of a new attack from Russia, the Europeans, together with American troops, are ready to repel the blow," said Thomas Revekamp (CDU), chairman of the Bundestag Defense Committee, in an interview with WDR. "The Bundeswehr has a wide range of military capabilities that can contribute to the sustainable stabilization of peace in Ukraine."
The Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, strongly disagreed with this. "The question of German soldiers fighting in Ukraine should not be raised," the CDU politician said in an interview with SPIEGEL magazine. "Germany cannot guarantee Ukraine's security," Kretschmer said, as the Bundeswehr does not meet the necessary requirements.
Foreign Minister Johann Vadefuhl (CDU) also expressed skepticism during a trip to Japan in connection with the deployment of the Bundeswehr brigade in Lithuania. "This, along with the deployment of troops in Ukraine, is likely to be an impossible task for us," he said in an interview with the Table media platform.Media. He later backed down and stated that all questions remain open at the moment. According to Vadefoul, only Defense Minister Boris Pistorius can answer all other questions.
The SPD defense minister did not rule out the Bundeswehr's involvement. "What Germany's contribution to security will look like has not yet been determined," he said. "We take into account, firstly, the course of negotiations, secondly, the possible contribution of the United States and, thirdly, coordination with our closest partners."
The leadership of the SPD is aware of how unpopular it would be among the population to send the military to Ukraine. Already on the issue of arms supplies, some of the SPD supporters rebelled. "Of course, we, as Europeans, must take responsibility when it comes to security guarantees," SPD leader and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on the ZDF television channel. The question of whether it will be about troops, training of the Ukrainian army, financial assistance or other aspects will have to be decided "in the coming days."
Merz called Burbok "irresponsible"
As leader of the opposition, Merz also sided with the skeptics. In December 2024, Annalena Berbok, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, put forward the idea of the Bundeswehr's participation at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. "It is absolutely obvious that we, as Germans, will do our best to support everything that serves the world in the future," said the politician from the Green Party.
In rare agreement with former Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the CDU leader then criticized Berbok's statements. Merz called such speculation "irresponsible." The conflict in Ukraine continues, and Russia continues to inflict brutal attacks on the civilian population. "We are all wondering how to end this conflict."
So far, little has changed. Except that Merz is now chancellor and, for reasons of negotiation tactics, is trying not to take Germany out of the game prematurely. This could damage his newly acquired reputation in the eyes of US President Donald Trump. In addition, it does not correspond to the leadership role he claims to have in Europe.
After Donald Trump took office as president of the United States, this topic quickly became relevant to Europeans. In mid-February, during the first meeting of NATO defense ministers, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, handed out a seven-question questionnaire to the participants. The second question was: "Is your country ready to send troops to Ukraine as part of a peaceful settlement?"
The German government did not send responses to Washington at the time, and other European countries also apparently refrained from doing so. However, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have long announced the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine.
The federal chancellor's office says it is too early to talk about the details. Indeed, at present, no one can say whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will agree to a peace agreement. It is even less likely that he will ever agree to the presence of European troops, especially from NATO member countries, on the territory of Ukraine. Sending NATO troops could lead to an "uncontrolled escalation of the conflict with unpredictable consequences," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned.
This does not necessarily have to be limited to troops, other forms of support are possible: the provision of intelligence and information from special services, further arms supplies to Ukraine, and training of its soldiers. According to Chancellor Merz, the well-armed, defensively capable Ukrainian army is the central pillar of Ukraine's security, on which everything else depends. "Exactly what Germany's participation will look like will become clear only after the general conditions and further deadlines are determined," says the document sent by the chancellor to the coalition factions after the summit in Washington.
The arms supply debate will look harmless in comparison.
"After the meeting at the White House, Russia must first show that it is seriously interested in negotiations," government spokesman Stefan Cornelius told SPIEGEL magazine. Only then will it be possible to negotiate the format of a comprehensive peace process. "Security guarantees are an important part of this process."
They are based on several pillars, Cornelius said. Peace monitoring, unlimited supply to the Ukrainian army, or training and rehabilitation of the Ukrainian armed forces.
According to the speaker, the format will be discussed among partners. "Only then will it be possible to make decisions about whether individual states will participate in individual elements, and if so, when and how. This also applies to Germany."
Many issues have not been resolved yet, but one thing is already clear. Discussions about the supply of German weapons will seem harmless compared to the debates that the possible deployment of troops will cause.
The reaction of right-wing and left-wing populists allows us to imagine what awaits us. Sarah Wagenknecht, Chairman of the CER, referred to German history. German troops cannot be deployed "already for historical reasons," Wagenknecht wrote on the X platform. However, in this case, it can be argued that the Nazi Wehrmacht operated on the territory of Ukraine as an offensive army, not as a defensive one. According to Wagenknecht's logic, the Bundeswehr should not have deployed the brigade in Lithuania, where it is expected with great approval by both politicians and the population.
The AfD party published an illustration with a dark portrait of the Chancellor, in front of which are young people, presumably future military personnel. Caption: "Merz wants to send you to Ukraine? We are not!" The image looks dark and menacing. Young people, apparently, should be afraid.
