German Chancellor Visits Missile-Prone Kyiv. The German-Ukrainian Alliance Now Faces Political Challenges From Left And Right.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz travelled by train to Ukraine on Sunday to pledge further military aid to the eastern European country and demonstrate the strength of the Germano-Ukrainian alliance.
A Russian drone attack on the Northern Bridge over the Dnipro River in the capital occurred shortly after the German leader’s arrival. The strike injured two people, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed.
“On a serene Sunday morning there were air-raid sirens in Kyiv … Mr Putin, stop this senseless war. We are ready for talks, we are ready to speak with one another about ending this war but these barbaric attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine must stop,” Merz said during his visit.
Merz’s trip came after Russia told diplomats to leave the Ukrainian city on Saturday, warning them that they would be responsible for the consequences of being caught up in Russian attacks.
The German leader also announced a new aid package to Ukraine worth over $1.5 billion. The package will include nearly $400 million in energy aid in anticipation of the coming winter and $1.1 billion worth of military aid. Other agreements regarding security cooperation as well as weapons production and procurement were reached.
As American military aid for Ukraine has declined, Berlin has become Kyiv’s biggest arms supplier and thus, in many ways, its most important ally. Merz was accompanied on the trip by representatives of several German energy and defense companies.
However, the political future of the alliance is far from certain, as Merz faces significant political challenges in Germany, where the chancellor’s governing centre-right CDU party has suffered a series of damaging local electoral defeats to both left- and right-wing challengers who have expressed skepticism about continued German support for Ukraine.
In early September, the far-right Alternative Für Deutschland (AFD) won a victory in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, securing 43.8 percent of the vote to the CDU’s 17.2 percent. The AFD also became the largest party in elections in the eastern federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern later that same month, beating the CDU by a margin of 38.2 percent to 4.9 percent.
On the same day as the Mecklenburg vote, Berlin state elections were held and saw the far-left Die Linke party defeat the CDU by seven percentage points.
These elections may indicate increasing disapproval of German military aid to Kyiv, as both Die Linke and the AFD have expressed skepticism towards the German government’s support for Ukraine.
“The rejection by citizens of the billions in aid to Ukraine continues to rise. Nevertheless, Merz is traveling to Kyiv again and continues to distribute German taxpayer money. The AfD will put an end to this and ensure that Germany does not become a party to the war!” Alice Weidel, the leader of the AFD, posted on X on Sunday. The party has also urged the German government to restore economic ties with Russia.
Die Linke, whilst being critical of Russia’s invasion and supporting the right of Ukrainian refugees to access German social and healthcare services, also supports ending German weapons shipments to Ukriane.
