Lessons from the Russian War
Melnyk near Lanz: Germany is indifferent
By Marko Schlichting
02/25/2022, 06:00 a.m
After Russia attacked the Ukraine, the question of how the Bundeswehr should be equipped came up on the evening political talk shows. The Ukrainian Ambassador Melnyk complained about Germany’s indifference to the delivery of weapons, and Finance Minister Lindner called for the army to be better equipped.
After the Russian army invaded Ukraine, the Ukrainian ambassador Andriy Melnyk complained to Markus Lanz about the traffic light government’s policy. She behaves indifferently, said Melnyk at Markus Lanz on ZDF. He had repeatedly wanted to negotiate with German politicians about arms deliveries. However, they had behaved “cold-heartedly and stubbornly” towards him. Every request to help his country was simply rejected, he complained.
Several politicians had given one reason for this in the past few days: the Bundeswehr was not able to help, criticized CDU leader Friedrich Merz on Wednesday evening. A day later, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner described the situation in the army to Sandra Maischberger in the first: “We have to familiarize ourselves with the fact that our Bundeswehr has been managed for many years to wear out.” Alliance defense must be a political priority again, according to the FDP politician. The Bundeswehr cannot currently fulfill its mission. “That’s why there has to be a turning point. I would like to implement that.”
Lindner criticizes that defense spending has fallen steadily in the financial planning of the last governments. Something like that doesn’t fit in today’s world. “The funds for the Bundeswehr will have to increase further,” says the finance minister.
“We can’t even afford national defence”
His party colleague Alexander Graf Lambsdorff helps Lindner on the same show. “The Basic Law says that the state deploys armed forces for national defense.” But at the moment the Bundeswehr cannot even defend its own country. During the Cold War there were thirty fully equipped brigades. According to Lambsdorff, there is not even one at the moment. “I think we have the tasks right in front of us.”
Even SPD general secretary Kevin Kühnert forgets his basic pacifist attitude. One could talk about an increase in defense costs in the Bundestag. However, one would then also have to say what the refinancing should look like. Kühnert sees several possibilities: “Income from other areas, generate additional income, deal with debt rules differently – that may all sound petty today, but it’s not unimportant in this business.”
Lindner open to the cancellation of the Swift system
In the short term it is now about sanctions against Russia and its President Vladimir Putin. In any case, military intervention is out of the question for Lindner. Nevertheless, he knows: “We are dealing with a ruler in the Kremlin who no longer has any understanding of international law.” Sanctions are therefore the only means.
It cannot be ruled out that Putin will completely stop gas supplies to Europe. Germany is prepared for this. In the short term, the gas requirement can be covered, in the medium term there must be a change in the energy supply. In addition, Germany must maintain a coal reserve for emergencies. The sanctions against Russia could also harm Germany. But apart from raw materials, Russia is much more dependent on us than we are on Russia.
In one point, however, there are no sanctions: Swift payments. Swift is a particularly secure system that is used by over 11,000 banks worldwide and that all of us use for online banking. “All options are on the table, including this one,” says Lindner. Swift is dealing with individual cases in trade with Russia, “where there are transactions that have to be done manually.” This also included payments for gas deliveries, explains Lindner. He sees them in danger if Russia were to be excluded from the Swift system. Nevertheless, he is open to the cancellation of Swift, says Lindner.
Meanwhile, the Russian advance in Ukraine continues. And the people there? They fight for their freedom. Late in the evening, President Zelenskyj ordered general mobilization.