Olaf Scholz’s government is again under fire from Ukrainian critics, says The time. To intensify its counter-attacks against the Russians, kyiv needs weapons, which Berlin seems reluctant to send. “Because a victory for Ukraine – defined as the pushback of Russian forces to the pre-2014 borders – not only contradicts the predictions of many German experts, explains the title on the left. It also goes against the political position of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and it has to be said very clearly.”
For the weekly, the Social Democrat leader’s hesitation to send Marder and Leopard combat tanks to kyiv can be explained by his lack of confidence in the Ukrainian army. Scholz considers that this cannot prevail against the “Russian military superiority” and its nuclear escalation capabilities, the headline claims. “What he wants, and has wanted, since the start of the conflict, are negotiations with the Kremlin.”
“Putin must not win”
The newspaper bases its analysis on the statements of the German Chancellor. At G7 meetings or at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he has always said that “Putin should not win this war”. Pour Die Zeit, “it’s not quite the same thing as saying: ‘Putin must lose the war’, or even ‘We will be with Ukraine until the final victory’.”
In this context, the phone call from the German leader to the Russian president on Tuesday, September 13, appears to be a way of putting diplomatic discussions back on the table, while silencing criticism of his lack of involvement in the war. In a country where 77% of the population “hopes that negotiations with Western countries will lead to an end to the conflict”, the measure can only be regarded with a good eye, notes the newspaper, citing a survey by the Forsa Institute published at the end of August. “The Chancellor knows the Germans well.”