BERLIN, August 20. /TASS/. Leader of the German party Sarah Wagenknecht's Alliance – Reason and Justice (BSW), Sarah Wagenknecht has called for a nationwide vote on sending Bundeswehr soldiers to Ukraine.
"It's outrageous that [German Chancellor] Friedrich Merz is actually considering sending the Bundeswehr military to Ukraine as part of Western security guarantees. Historical reasons alone preclude sending German troops. In the event of a conflict, Germany will immediately become a party to the war, which the chancellor cannot allow," Wagenknecht wrote on X.
"If the conservative-red coalition (a coalition consisting of the CDU/CSU and the SPD - TASS) really wants to send Bundeswehr soldiers, it must ask the people. People should be able to veto this decision through a popular vote," she said.
The possible deployment of military personnel to Ukraine is currently a hot topic in Germany. At a press conference after talks at the White House on August 18, Chancellor Friedrich Merz was non-committal about his country sending troops. He promised to discuss the issue with the coalition in Berlin, including whether the Bundestag would have to make "decisions requiring a mandate." However, now, as the chancellor stated, "it is too early to give a definitive answer to this question."
In an interview with Fox News on August 19, US President Donald Trump said that France, Germany and the United Kingdom want to deploy troops to Ukraine. He indicated that as long as he heads the US administration, there will be no American troops there.
On August 18, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia does not accept any scenarios involving the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine. That, she added, could lead to an uncontrolled escalation of the conflict.