{"id":362721,"date":"2025-08-21T18:40:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T18:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/362721\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T18:40:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T18:40:15","slug":"reuters-talk-of-german-troops-in-ukraine-sparks-political-firestorm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/362721\/","title":{"rendered":"Reuters: Talk of German troops in Ukraine sparks political firestorm"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Discussions among Western allies about sending European peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as part of a future peace settlement with Russia have triggered political and public backlash in Germany, a country still grappling with the legacy of its Nazi past and recent failed foreign missions.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Chancellor Friedrich Merz has signaled openness to German participation in a peacekeeping mission, but stressed any decision would require close coordination with European partners and his governing coalition. He also highlighted the legal hurdle: such a move would need Bundestag approval \u2014 a high bar for a chancellor who was only confirmed on his second attempt, <a style=\"color: rgb(53, 152, 219);\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/talk-boots-ground-ukraine-sparks-unease-germany-2025-08-21\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Reuters<\/strong><\/a> reports.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cIt is too early today to give a definitive answer,\u201d Merz said on August 18 when asked directly about deployment.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Despite the early stage of discussions, opposition has grown swiftly. Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), blasted the idea as \u201cdangerous and irresponsible,\u201d accusing Merz\u2019s conservatives of warmongering.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Even within Merz\u2019s government, doubts persist. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul warned that sending troops to Ukraine \u201cwould probably overwhelm us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Germany\u2019s past military engagements \u2014 particularly in Afghanistan and Mali \u2014 have left a sour legacy, and many are wary of becoming embroiled in another foreign conflict. Economic struggles and the state of Germany\u2019s underfunded military only deepen the resistance.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cSomething like this is obviously extremely controversial in Germany,\u201d said Marcel Dirsus, Non-Resident Fellow at the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University. \u201cThere is no point expending political capital on something that might not actually come to pass.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Leaked reports revealed CDU parliamentary leader Jens Spahn urged lawmakers to avoid public speculation. Yet the AfD has already pounced, sharing a doctored image of Merz with five young Germans and the caption: \u201cMerz wants to send YOU to Ukraine? We don&#8217;t!\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">While French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer back potential deployments, Germans are more skeptical. A Forsa poll shows 49% support sending troops \u2014 but 45% oppose it, with stronger opposition in East Germany.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">By Vafa Guliyeva<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Discussions among Western allies about sending European peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as part of a future peace settlement&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362722,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5310],"tags":[23355,7503,7502,2000,299,1824,23356,23359,466,23358,23357,23354],"class_list":{"0":"post-362721","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-germany","8":"tag-analysis-of-azerbaijan","9":"tag-azerbaijan","10":"tag-baku","11":"tag-eu","12":"tag-europe","13":"tag-germany","14":"tag-important-news-of-azerbaijan","15":"tag-international-experts","16":"tag-interviews","17":"tag-interviews-with-azerbaijani-analysts","18":"tag-news-from-baku","19":"tag-news-of-azerbaijan"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115068221772408642","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}