The foreign‑policy spokesperson of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Jürgen Hardt, acknowledged the possibility of a new wave of Ukrainian refugees. He told RTL and ntv that this could be sparked by the ongoing Russian attacks on the country’s heating and power infrastructure. “There is already concern that, in the coming days and weeks, especially during the cold, people in Ukraine may be compelled to leave their homes and flee, perhaps even beyond Ukraine’s borders” he said.
However, Hardt expects a different outcome. “I believe this can be avoided if Russia suffers defeats on the front line, if the Ukrainian advantage in drone warfare becomes increasingly visible, so that we reach a situation in which, hopefully for the people in Ukraine, the worst of this winter is at least survived” he added.
Indeed, last week the Ukrainian army reclaimed more than 200 square kilometres of its own territory from Russian forces. The success is likely linked to blocking Russian access to the Starlink satellite system, which would also explain the drone superiority highlighted by Hardt.