Germany is finally ready to face Putin

Telegraph

5 days ago

Three years, three months and two days ago, Olaf Scholz declared that Germany would undergo a historic 'Zeitenwende' – or 'changing of the times', pivoting its attitude towards Russia and its own defence and security. Scholz flopped on his promise, but it seems that Germany's new chancellor Friedrich Merz is determined to deliver where his predecessor failed and finally square up to Russia.
For the first time, Merz hosted Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin yesterday. Building on their meeting alongside other European leaders earlier in the month, Merz announced a new €5 billion (£4.2 billion) aid package for Ukraine.
The chancellor agreed to finance a portion of Ukraine's Starlink satellite coverage, so crucial for secure communication by Kyiv's troops along the front line, and provide additional materiel and logistical support. Germany would also support Ukraine in other ways, including new sanctions on Russia and making sure the Nord Stream 2 pipeline would 'never be used again'.
The star item of Merz's package, however, was a commitment that Germany will finance the production of long-range missiles on Ukrainian soil. Berlin will invest directly into the Ukrainian arms industry, providing a much-needed boost to the country's industry to help its ability to supply itself with weapons quickly, rather than simply waiting for western donations.
Announcing the joint missile development project, Merz added pointedly: 'There will be no range restrictions, allowing Ukraine to fully defend itself, even against military targets outside its own territory.' In other words, Berlin won't stand in the way of Zelensky wanting to use these weapons – which will most likely have a range of over 150 miles – to strike deep into Russian territory. According to the German ministry of defence, they will start to filter through to the front line in a matter of weeks.
Merz's new package for Ukraine came two days after the chancellor sparked a great deal of confusion by declaring that there were 'no longer any restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine'. Thanks to Scholz's reticence about triggering an escalation in the conflict with Russia, Germany had never donated long-range missiles to Ukraine, so it was unclear why Berlin would have a say over how those which had been used. Tellingly, on Monday he added: 'A country that can only counter an aggressor on its own territory is not adequately defending itself.' Now, in light of yesterday's announcement, this makes a lot more sense.
It is clear that Merz is more comfortable than Scholz with taking a more confrontational line with Putin. In the first week of his chancellorship, he issued an order for the defence ministry to stop publishing lists of the weapons being sent to Ukraine to avoid giving the Kremlin an insight into Kyiv's arsenal. This policy of 'strategic ambiguity' for Ukraine suggests Merz wants to make good on his promise to make Germany a European bulwark against Russia.
Thanks to his tough talk on defence for Ukraine, there is now, however, one promise that Merz is under pressure to keep: giving Kyiv Taurus missiles. With a range of 300 miles, they would, in theory, allow Ukrainian troops to strike as far as Moscow. Just last month, Merz reaffirmed his pledge to do just this – but only 'in agreement with European partners'.
Germany has already, for many years, been Ukraine's largest European aid donor. But, to engineer a fair end to the war for Ukraine, and defend the continent's security interests, it is now up to Merz to shed the nerves of Berlin's previous administration and stand strong against Russia.