Wagenknecht: Scholz should explain change of course on weapons

The head of BSW, Sahra Wagenknecht, is calling on Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to make a government statement on the change of course regarding the use of German weapons against military targets in Russia. "He should explain to the public why it should suddenly no longer be a problem if Ukraine attacks Russian territory with German weapons, even though he himself warned against this for months with reference to the threat of war for our country," Wagenknecht told the Funke Mediengruppe newspapers (Monday).

"German weapons on targets in Russia - that fills many people in Saxony with great concern," BSW Chairwoman Sabine Zimmermann from Saxony told the German Press Agency in Dresden. "It is precisely this policy, it is precisely this constant spiral of escalation that we as the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance reject." On the posters for the European elections, the SPD is still calling for "Securing peace" and promising "Prudent action" with the image of the chancellor. Scholz has completely abandoned this prudence by approving the use of weapons in Russia.

According to Zimmermann, the alliance has long warned Sahra Wagenknecht about this development. "In our election manifesto for Saxony, we say what many people think: 'A peace architecture for Europe can only be established in the long term if the security interests of all sides are respected."

On Friday, government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit announced the chancellor's decision to allow Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia, to fire weapons supplied by Germany against military targets in Russia. The previous day, the US government had given Ukraine permission to use American weapons on a limited scale against targets on Russian territory. Both Germany and the US justified the move with the recent Russian offensive against the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv.