BSW Chief Sahra Wagenknecht does not believe that Russia would attack further European countries after its invasion of Ukraine.
“I don’t know what Putin wants, but Russia would be militarily unable to achieve that” Wagenknecht told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.” “An army that fails to capture Kiev will hardly roll over the Baltic states” she added. “I hold it for a bold thesis that Putin plans to re-establish the old Soviet Union through military conquest, given the real equipment of the Russian army.”
Wagenknecht also claimed that the war trigger was the stationing of US military in Ukraine. “I condemn the Russian war” she said. “But it would have been preventable if the red lines, repeatedly mentioned by the Russians and Western diplomats, had been respected.” She added, “The United States could have prevented the war and ended it a long time ago.”
If Ukraine were to recommit to being a neutral state, the “decisive trigger of the conflict would be eliminated” Wagenknecht said. However, there should be guarantor powers. “Those who have mediated so far would offer, such as Brazil or Turkey. In any case, no German soldiers, that’s already ruled out due to our history. Of course, no US soldiers either.”
Regarding the comment that Putin could end the war by simply stopping his aggressive actions, Wagenknecht said, “Never has a war been ended by an aggressor simply retreating. This moral debate gets us nowhere.”
Looking at Ukraine, Wagenknecht said the state “is still being looted by corruption to this day.” She also described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “corrupt” citing the “Panama Papers” which allegedly show that he had millions of dollars in tax havens. “His election campaign was financed by an oligarch, whose wish candidate then took office in key positions” she claimed. “Transparency International confirms that corruption in Ukraine is a problem, but it has been decreasing lately.