While French President Emmanuel Macron recently shook Europe by mentioning the possibility of Western troops sending troops to Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (pictured) caused another stir by leaking war secrets. As the war between Russia and Ukraine enters its third year, and fatigue in the West increases, some point out that this shows a rift between the European double-horses that have taken the lead in supporting Ukraine.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 4th, Prime Minister Scholz was explaining why he could not support Ukraine’s self-developed long-range air-to-ground guided missile ‘Taurus’ despite repeated requests from Ukraine at an event held in Dresden, eastern Germany, on the 29th of last month. Prime Minister Scholz said that if the Taurus’s target is set incorrectly in this process, it could reach the Russian capital Moscow, causing a sharp increase in civilian casualties. “Germany cannot do what Britain and France do to control targets. “Anyone who has dealt with the Taurus system knows this,” he said.
This statement gives room for interpretation that the country’s troops were directly deployed to the Ukrainian battlefield to operate the long-range missile ‘Storm Shadow’, which was provided to Ukraine by Britain and France. Britain and France have so far denied direct involvement, saying, “We provided support for the missiles, but they are operated by the Ukrainian military,” for fear of a backlash from Russia.
After the remark became known, Britain strongly opposed it. The British Ministry of Defense said, “Storm Shadow’s operation and targeting are the work of the Ukrainian Air Force.” Tobias Ellwood, former chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, criticized Germany for “blatantly leaking confidential information from its allies in order to divert attention from the controversy over support for Taurus.” Former Defense Secretary Ben Wallace pointed out, “It shows that Chancellor Scholz is in the wrong place at the wrong time when it comes to European security.”
The NYT reported that the cracks in the West were exposed at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin warned, “If any member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) directly intervenes in the war in Ukraine, we will be willing to go to nuclear war,” and that the West’s cracks are being blocked by the prolongation of the war and the decline in support from the United States. He pointed out that while the Ukrainian army is being pushed back, the Western unity is also experiencing a crisis.
Earlier, on the 1st, a recording of a high-ranking German military officer was released through Russian state media, saying that there was a possibility that Germany could attack Russia by supporting Taurus in Ukraine. Russia is pushing Germany day after day by summoning German Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ramsdorf on the 4th.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.