What exactly is Germany’s role in the Ukraine conflict? With Markus Lanz not only this question is not clarified.
Berlin – Is the fate of Ukraine changing? Although Elon Musk is calling for negotiations with Putin, Markus Lanz’s guests were more optimistic that the war had entered a new phase.
“The situation in Ukraine is in flux,” said Christian Mölling at Markus Lanz on ZDF. The security expert and research director of the German Society for Foreign Relations also emphasized that it is hardly possible to say from a distance exactly where the current border is, the situation is changing almost every hour.
But how dangerous is the situation in which Ukraine is retaking territories that are within the territories recently “officially” annexed by Russia? “Putin’s room for political maneuvers is very narrow,” said Mölling, because the Russian constitution would forbid Putin to give up the areas he had just annexed, so what should he be negotiating about there.
Dmitry Glukhovsky at Markus Lanz: Putin “physically unimpressive”
The writer Dmitry Glukhovsky personally knows Vladimir Putin, whom he describes as “physically unimpressive”. Glukhovsky became known for his novel “Metro 2033”, and his new book “Stories from Home” will be published soon, in which he once again proves his reputation as a smug critic of Putin. Glukhovsky, who is now living in exile, described the mood of the Russian population as “changing” on Markus Lanz on ZDF.
Until the mobilization a few days ago, the war in Ukraine didn’t matter to most Russians, Glukhovsky said, but now things are changing. “The memories of the Stalin era are alive in every family,” which prevents people from clearly expressing their opposition to the war. Just expressing opinions can lead to years in a prison camp, not to mention demonstrations.
| Markus Lanz on ZDF from October 5th | The guests of the show |
| Kevin Kuehnert | SPD General Secretary |
| Claudia Kade | journalist |
| Christian Molling | security expert |
| Dmitry Glukhovsky | writer |
But how great is the danger of a nuclear war, because Putin threatened once more and this time even with the words: “This is not a bluff!” Claudia Kade, political expert at the world , emphasized with Markus Lanz on ZDF that at least the feeling of the threat is increasing . Kevin Kühnert, Secretary General of the SPD, also confirmed this feeling, which the Chancellor also emphasized early on in a Spiegel interview.
Do the Germans panic excessively?
Christian Mölling contradicted: In no other country is the perceived danger as great as in Germany, but why is that? Why is this fear so widespread in Germany in particular? Is it Russian propaganda? Is Russia consciously trying to divide NATO, the western world, by influencing Germany? Mölling pointed out the special relationship between Germany and Russia, which was shaped by the Second World War and which also entails a special responsibility. But does that suffice as an explanation for the often stated Russophilia of parts of the German population?
To the broadcast
Markus Lanz on October 4, 2022. About Germany’s role in the Ukraine conflict, the current mood among the Russian population, the traffic light coalition’s defensive shield and Putin’s threatening gestures. The program in the ZDF media library.
However, Putin does not have a red button, Christian Mölling explained to Markus Lanz on ZDF. Two other people, the defense minister and the chief of staff, would also have to agree to a nuclear strike, and it seemed very unlikely to the security expert that that would happen. A certain scaremongering seems to be inherent in the German discourse, which did not only become apparent during the corona crisis and is continuing in the current discussions about the very unlikely event of a nuclear war. This is exactly how we play Putin’s game: to talk about this threat and to ignore other aspects.
Kevin Kühnert very annoyed
For example, the issue of German arms deliveries, which has been the subject of debate for months. Kevin Kühnert emphasized that Germany is doing more than almost all other countries and was very annoyed by Markus Lanz on ZDF that the discussion was repeatedly reduced to the deliveries or non-deliveries of the Leo tanks.
Perhaps it wouldn’t make much sense to send German tanks to Ukraine, of all things, Dmitry Glukhovsky interjected, because the symbolism of the equipment could play into Putin’s propaganda, who has spoken of a war against Nazism from the outset, and that fits because better than fighting against German tanks? Either way: In the end, the Ukraine war will certainly not depend on the delivery of a handful of German tanks, but how things will continue will often be a topic in Markus Lanz’s broadcast. (Michael Meyns)
