In 2008, NATO had many supporters of the early admission of Ukraine, but Germany and France opposed because of the position of Russia. The fact that the Ukrainians did not join NATO “was a big mistake on the part of the French and Angela Merkel at the time,” Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, head of the defense committee in the Bundestag, said in an interview with the German television channels RTL and n-tv.
She also believes that after February 24, Germany should have taken the side of Ukraine and supported the arms. But first, “the history of Angela Merkel will have to be rewritten, especially the history of the last few years and full of miscalculations.”
At the 2008 NATO Bucharest summit, Germany and France blocked the granting of a NATO membership action plan to Ukraine, as well as Georgia, for fear of escalation by Russia.
Struck-Zimmermann in the Bundestag is considered a supporter of harsh criticism of the authorities for sluggish assistance to Ukraine. In early January, she declared in the Bundestag about the need to transfer the Marder BMP to Ukraine.
We should start redeploying the Marder infantry fighting vehicle to Ukraine and immediately begin training in how to operate it, the head of the defense committee of the German Bundestag said then.
She also noted that Marder is in sufficient quantities in the warehouses of the Bundeswehr, as well as ammunition for them.
Recall that CIA Director William Burns finally realized that the paths were preparing to attack Ukraine after a visit to Moscow in November 2021. Politico writes that it was this trip that convinced skeptics in Washington that Russia was preparing a very serious invasion.
Last winter, the way noted that the attention of Europeans was focused on something else: German Chancellor Angela Merkel ended her political career, and French President Emmanuel Macron was preparing for elections.
Putin also hoped that in the cold winter, energy prices would be high, and it would be difficult for Europe to unite into a coalition capable of imposing serious sanctions. So I did not count on a powerful response from the West to the invasion.
Source: Racurs
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