2023-07-14 21:33:15
A white-haired senior, who came to the event hall in Chemnitz with a blue shirt and yellow bow tie, set the tone from the audience. In GDR times he refused military service, “with all the consequences,” he says. Today, on the other hand, he would probably take up a gun to defend democracy. And then he wants to get rid of something important. “Forgive us that there are so many lunatics who walk around here on Mondays with Russian flags.” He received a lot of applause for this on Friday evening at the readers’ forum of the Chemnitz newspaper “Freie Presse”, attended by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and boxing legend Wladimir Klitschko. More than 1000 readers were interested in the event on the subject of “War in Ukraine and the Consequences”, which is why the almost 300 places were allocated by drawing lots.
“You get used to explosions”
Stefan Locke
Correspondent for Saxony and Thuringia based in Dresden.
Klitschko, who had traveled all the way from Ukraine, first described the situation in his home country. “You get used to explosions, every day, every night,” he says. Almost every day Russia attacks with missiles and kamikaze drones. “You get used to the pictures, explosions and seeing death, and you live on.” Especially now in the summer, the Ukrainians would also like to “make plans for the holidays, for life”, like the people in Germany . But that’s not possible at the moment. “It’s not normal life in Ukraine.” It’s completely silent in the hall while the 47-year-old athlete and younger brother of Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko speaks.
Baerbock reminded that many Russians do not want this war either, but that Putin started it. “As long as the Russian President bombs, kidnaps and rapes people every day,” said Baerbock, Ukraine must be helped to defend itself. She understands that many people want to know how long this will all take, but she cannot answer this question. At the same time, she pleaded for political reasons not to let up in support. Without anti-aircraft defenses and tanks, there would have been even more deaths. And: “What kind of sign would it be for other nuclear powers if Putin got through his attack?” she asked. Others would probably see that as a kind of free pass.
But not everyone in the audience agreed with that. For some time now, neither side has made any military progress, says one man. This stalemate costs the lives of many young men on both sides every day. The longer the war lasts, the greater the consequences for Germany. “When is the right time to negotiate?” he wants to know from Baerbock. The Foreign Minister first clears up a prejudice that she encounters again and again. It’s not true that people don’t talk to each other, she says. Every day she leads talks to end the war. There is no “either weapons or talks”, but always both to this day. Practically until shortly before the attack on February 24 last year, many countries tried to prevent this war. Unfortunately that was in vain. Therefore, Ukraine must now be supported militarily. “Every single human life that we were able to save was worth the arms shipments.”
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