Ukrainetalk at Illner
Masala: Macron’s idea for ground troops in Ukraine is not stupid
By Marko Schlichting
March 1, 2024, 6:25 a.m
The war in Ukraine has entered a new phase. The Russian army is recording successes, Ukraine is running out of ammunition and soldiers. What are the West’s priorities? Not all guests at Maybrit Illner are sure about that.
A dispute broke out between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Macron at a Ukraine conference in Paris this week. While Scholz is already ruling out deliveries of Taurus cruise missiles, Macron is even thinking out loud about deploying ground troops. The West apparently lacks a unified strategy to end the war in Ukraine. That is the verdict of the guests on the ZDF talk show Maybrit Illner on Thursday evening.
The SPD politician Michael Roth first explains why Scholz once again spoke out against the Taurus deliveries. The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee is in favor of the deliveries, but has other priorities. “This is a completely terrible week for Ukraine and also for us, for the allies. And it’s not over yet,” says the politician. A dispute broke out over what Ukraine didn’t need and what it wasn’t getting. “We should rather use the time to talk about what Ukraine needs: ammunition, ammunition, ammunition. And air defense,” said Roth. And on this point Macron has taken an important step. He admitted for the first time that the Western allies could buy what Ukraine needed on the world market. He has so far rejected that. Macron talked about ground troops, which no one wants in Ukraine. It was right that Scholz distanced himself from it. Roth: “I can only ask everyone to pull themselves together and be united. Because this is the only chance to beat Putin and support Ukraine so that it survives this terrible war.”
Military expert Carlo Masala explains the background to Macron’s statements. The conference was about improving aid to Ukraine. Among other things, there was also talk about deploying soldiers to help the Ukrainians without fighting. “It’s about demining, it’s about border security, these were the questions,” says Masala. Then Macron said this sentence at a press conference, which was misleading. In and of itself the sentence wasn’t that stupid. “The problem is, as is so often the case with Macron: He says the right things at the wrong time – and without consultation.” Now an actually correct idea has been destroyed. In the eyes of the Russian president, Europe portrayed itself as a weak actor that did not even agree on certain principles of support for Ukraine.
Putin has staying power
The German-Ukrainian journalist Marina Weisband is horrified by the current discussion. The people of Ukraine still hoped for victory because they had no other choice. They had their backs to the wall and knew that there was no other way out than to fight. “But they also know that in order to be able to fight and achieve something, they need the support of the West. They have no chance on their own.” They are very concerned about the current discussion in Europe. “I think what’s driving the debate is the lack of a real strategy. And I think that’s the reason for these little arguments, for all the back and forth. The West has no real strategy.”
Russian President Putin, on the other hand, is pursuing a strategy of staying power. Western sanctions have made Russian people poorer, but soldiers are paid very well. So Putin doesn’t have a problem with his approval at the moment. He could continue to refresh his soldiers in Ukraine and in the meantime imprison or murder the opposition.
Conflict researcher Nicole Deitelhoff has a similar view, but she disagrees on one key point: Chancellor Scholz does have a strategy. “He always said that he would do everything to ensure that Germany and NATO did not become parties to the conflict. He continues to do that to this day, and that has always led to this hesitation: namely, to keep saying that we are only sailing on sight; We deliver and we see what happens. And only when we have the feeling that there is no escalation level are we ready to move forward.”
“You could say it’s a strategy,” agrees Weisband. “But the question is: What is the goal?” The Chancellor’s strategy would ultimately lead to Ukraine losing the war because there weren’t enough people and blood. And then, at the latest, Germany will become a warring party: “Because Russia can no longer be governed without war.” If the Russian army occupied Ukraine, it would then be the Baltics’ turn, Weisband predicts. “Because Putin knows full well that as soon as he mentions a nuclear bomb, the whole of Europe will throw up its feet and do nothing.” We, Europe, must now finally decide whether this war concerns us or not, said Weisband.
For Michael Roth, the answer is clear: Europe must decide not to put off Ukraine any longer. “We have to explain: Let’s really ensure that Ukraine wins and then has a chance for peace – with more weapons. That’s unreasonable.”
And Weisband adds: “The Ukrainians are the ones who are shedding their blood for us at the moment, who are helping us. And we now have the opportunity to beat back this fascism without shedding a drop of blood. And we have to use this opportunity.”