(StraightNews.org) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is under fire for implying that the UK and France have troops in Ukraine. Speaking about his refusal to send German Taurus long-range missiles to Kyiv because he does not want his country to be an active participant in the war, Mr. Scholz said, “What the British and French are doing in terms of target control and support for target control cannot be done in Germany.”
Britain vehemently denies maintaining active troops in Ukraine, but it has sent long-range Storm Shadow missiles. France has also provided similar weapons, and some French politicians say Scholz’s words were irresponsible and further isolated Berlin.
François Heisbourg, a senior adviser with the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, claimed the German Chancellor had “unwittingly” broken the silent taboo on the presence of NATO members in Ukraine. Analysts, however, state that while there are NATO forces in the country, they are not involved in the war but provide protection to embassies and diplomats.
The new row will likely increase tensions inside Germany over whether to supply the powerful Taurus missiles to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has pleaded with the German government to hand them over. Scholz faces dissent within his own party, and in February, members of Germany’s Parliament, the Bundestag, passed a resolution for “additional long-range weapons systems,” but Scholz sidestepped the resolution by saying it did not apply to Taurus – prompting a new and ongoing debate.
Michael Roth, leader of the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of Scholz’s Social Democrat party, called for unity and a renewed focus on Ukrainian victory among European leaders. “Our unity has been our strongest asset against Putin so far,” he said.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in the United States still have not agreed to further funding for the Ukrainian war chest, and public support continues to fall. According to a recent Gallop poll, 41% of Americans think the US is paying too much – up from 24% in 2022.
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