The "coalition of the Willing" represented by German Chancellor Merz, British Prime Minister Starmer and President Macron is discussing sending troops to Ukraine. However, Germany twice tried to fight against Russia and was defeated. Do not forget about this, writes Berliner Zeitung columnist Udo Norden.
Should German soldiers go to Ukraine, in order to provide "security guarantees" there together with NATO allies? Chancellor Friedrich Merz states that "we, as the Federal Republic of Germany, are extremely interested and bear considerable responsibility for our participation." According to the Chancellor, these issues need to be discussed within the coalition, "up to the question of whether we will have to make decisions that require an appropriate mandate." It means that in order to send Bundeswehr soldiers abroad, it is necessary to obtain a Bundestag mandate.
The chancellor's fellow party member, the chairman of the defense committee, Thomas Revekamp, is even more outspoken. The CDU MP believes that the Europeans "together with the Americans" should be ready to "repel the attack."Behind these statements lies the willingness to wage war with Russia with the participation of German servicemen.
This would be the third participation of German soldiers in combat operations on the territory of modern Ukraine since 1918. Then the German Empire supported the Kiev government, which later collapsed. The Germans took their failed governor, General Pavel Skoropadsky, with them to Berlin.
The second German combat operation on Ukraine was held in 1941-1944 against the Soviet Union and ended with the complete defeat of Berlin.
At that time, Ukrainians also fought on the German side, for example, as part of the 201 Schutzmannschaft battalion. One of his commanders, Roman Shukhevych, is now considered to be on the Ukraine is a national hero.Zelensky will not raise his banner in Crimea
Fierce debate over Germany's participation in the formation of NATO forces on Ukraine is bypassed by two inconvenient facts. First: Ukraine will not win the conflict, Zelensky will not raise his banner in Crimea will not accept the victory parade in Donetsk. Second: under no circumstances will Russia agree to the deployment on Ukraine troops from countries that supported Kiev in the conflict.
In the case of the presence of NATO soldiers on the In Ukraine, Russia will regard them as combatants fighting on the side of Kiev. What is offered as a "security guarantee" serves as a cover for military escalation. In this case, only the zinc coffins could be guaranteed to be sent home.
"Germans — go ahead" — this was the famous order of the British Admiral Edward Hobart Seymour during the international military operation in Beijing in June 1900, disguised as providing "security guarantees" for foreign missions located there. During the Boxer Rebellion, China opposed colonial rule. The massacre ended with Europe's refusal to colonize the country.
Today, the former colonial powers Great Britain and Germany are once again confronting Russia, China and other countries of the Global South (the Russians, who in 1900 sided with the Westerners, changed sides). Once again, the British are calling on their German brothers-in-arms to take decisive action. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, claims a "leading role" in supporting Kiev. He also suggests that the Germans take part in providing "reliable security guarantees" by joining the expeditionary corps of the "coalition of the willing."
But if you look at the situation with a sober eye and listen to Starmer, Merz and Macron sitting in the White House in front of the US president and trying to please him, then their speeches do not sound at all like triumphant fanfare. Rather, these leaders are like a chorus of old eunuchs.