Hofreiter and Weber fear defeat for Kiev
The blockade by the Republicans in Congress is dramatically reducing US military aid for Ukraine. Green politician Hofreiter and EPP leader Weber are concerned about the consequences for the war. They are calling for Europe to step in to fill the gap.
In view of the massive 87% drop in aid to Ukraine to its lowest level since January 2022, Green politician Anton Hofreiter has called for an immediate increase in support. "Together with our European partners, we must quickly and extensively order the weapons systems from the arms industry that we and Ukraine need to defend ourselves," Hofreiter told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). "The situation is serious," said Hofreiter. "It must worry us that US support for Ukraine has diminished earlier than expected. Now it is all the more important for Europe."
US President Joe Biden has been trying in vain since October to break a Republican blockade in Congress. The issue is aid for Ukraine amounting to 61.4 billion dollars, which has not yet been approved.
The same mistake as before Russia's invasion
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius should "stop constantly patting themselves on the back for what they have achieved so far", said Hofreiter and called for a "sober look at the situation in Ukraine". He warned: "We are in danger of making the same mistakes again as we did before 24 February 2022. There are too many people who accuse Putin of being willing to negotiate, even though there is no evidence of this."
EPP group and party leader Manfred Weber is also concerned about the latest figures. "If Ukraine loses this war, there will be no peace, Putin will continue to attack us," Weber told RND. The CSU politician pointed out that Russia is already trying to destabilize Europe. "The Finnish border is closed because Putin is using migrants as a political weapon, in the Baltic states we see cyber attacks from Russia on a daily basis and in Slovakia fake news from Putin's empire has turned the political mood." Weber therefore called on the heads of state and government to provide further assistance. "The EU summit next week must send a clear signal of support, we stand by Ukraine."
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Anton Hofreiter, expressing concern over the significant decrease in US military aid for Ukraine, urged the EU to increase its weapon supplies to Ukraine swiftly, stating, "Together with our European partners, we must quickly and extensively order the weapons systems from the arms industry that we and Ukraine need to defend ourselves." Manfred Weber, leader of the EPP group, shared Hofreiter's concerns, stating, "If Ukraine loses this war, there will be no peace, Putin will continue to attack us," and called for further assistance at the upcoming EU summit. This situation has led Green politician Hofreiter to critique German defense policy, expressing, "We are in danger of making the same mistakes again as we did before 24 February 2022."
Source: www.ntv.de
