Ukrainetalk with Anne Will
“You are the Putin voice of Germany”
By Marko Schlichting
September 18, 2023, 3:34 a.m
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The delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine could be decided in the next few days. They would probably mean a turning point for the war-torn country. On the ARD talk show Anne Will, the guests argued about the renewed arms deliveries. Sahra Wagenknecht, for example, is strictly against it.
This week could mark a turning point in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, which begins this Monday, US President Joe Biden, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj want to meet for consultations. In addition, a decision could be made in the next few days to deliver German Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. Beforehand, they should receive modified software with which their range of 500 kilometers can be reduced. It is unclear how complex the reprogramming of the cruise missiles is and when they will be available. Whether they can influence the war in Ukraine and what goals the West is pursuing to end the war was the topic of the ARD talk show Anne Will that evening.
The military historian Karl Schlögel demands from the West above all: “We should supply the weapons that will allow Ukraine to drive the enemy out of the country. For me the question is: How can Europe, how can the Europeans, watch this happen? “The most important cities in the country are attacked from the air, bombed and destroyed?” In the course of the program, Schlögel focuses primarily on the left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht, whom he accuses: “Together with the AfD, you are the Putin voice of Germany.”
Kiesewetter accuses Wagenknecht of fake news
Wagenknecht advocates an end to arms deliveries to Ukraine while peace negotiations take place at the same time. “We won’t end the terrible situation by supplying weapons systems like the Taurus, a type of weapon that can also be equipped with nuclear weapons.” Shortly afterwards, CDU foreign policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter described the claim as fake news. In fact, the USA had been developing the AGM-129, a nuclear cruise missile, since 1982, but production was stopped after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia is also said to have nuclear-capable cruise missiles, NATO reported in 2018. Russia denied the reports.
Wagenknecht fears that NATO is taking another step towards becoming a warring party by supplying cruise missiles and doubts that this could bring an end to the war. “It’s more the case that Ukraine is increasingly wearing down its armed forces. That’s the problem. Time isn’t working for Ukraine, but for Putin,” she says. The politician fears: “If Ukraine continues to lose so many soldiers, then it will not only call for weapons, but also for soldiers. That would be a precarious situation for NATO, because then the question arises as to whether we will watch them Ukraine collapses militarily, or whether we are really prepared to intervene in this war with soldiers. That would mean that we accept a third world war. And I think it shouldn’t come to that.” The politician’s fears are not unfounded. In fact, a good two months ago on the ARD talk show Maischberger, Ukrainian presidential advisor Alexander Rodnyansky called for the deployment of NATO soldiers in addition to arms deliveries.
“I’m part of Team Tempo”
The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, Michael Roth from the SPD, can understand Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s hesitation in delivering the Taurus cruise missiles. “The Chancellor has to decide that and reconcile it with his conscience. None of us have to do that. I respect that,” he says at Anne Will. Nevertheless, Roth makes it clear: “I’m part of the Tempo team.” The West should provide everything Ukraine needs for its defense and for the reconquest of its territory occupied by Russia. “The Chancellor is doing this carefully because it is important to him to work with Ukraine’s most important ally: the USA. Without the American president, who has saved our asses several times, Ukraine would have been down long ago.” The Ukrainian army uses Western weapons responsibly. According to international law, an army is only allowed to attack military targets, but not civilian targets. Unlike Russia, Ukraine adheres to this.
CDU politician Roderich Kiesewetter is also calling for the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine to be promised as quickly as possible. Basically, he criticizes: “Our hesitation leads to many people dying because certain weapons such as tanks, armored personnel carriers and now Taurus arrive too late. It must be clear that the goal is the liberation of Ukraine. It is in our security interest that Ukraine doesn’t fall apart.” The country should not become a blueprint for a possible attack by China on Taiwan, says Kiesewetter. And further: “Russia must lose the war in the sense that it accepts its neighbors’ right to exist. And it doesn’t do that.” Roth sees it the same way: “If Putin’s imperialism is not stopped once and for all, Ukraine will not be the final target, then more wars will follow.”
Taurus “gentle weapon”
One way to achieve this could be the Taurus cruise missiles. According to Kiesewetter, these have an intensive effect on the Russian supply lines in Crimea. “This is a weapon that is gentle because it destroys supply lines such as fuel depots and ammunition, and because it forces the approximately 40,000 Russian soldiers in Crimea to surrender.” Kiesewetter demands that Germany, like other NATO partners, must conclude contracts with Ukraine on the use of the weapons. The politician predicts: “We will see progress at the UN (today) Monday. And on Tuesday there is a Ramstein meeting, where we will see certain innovations. I am firmly convinced that we will get a date this week “By when the Taurus will be delivered.”