49% of Germans support the participation of the Bundeswehr in peacekeeping missions in Ukraine
19 February 2025 09:42
Many German citizens are not against the idea of the German military joining a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine and monitoring compliance with the cessation of hostilities. This was reported by Reuters, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The agency cites data from a Forsa poll for Stern magazine, according to which 49% of Germans support such a deployment, 44% oppose it, and 7% abstained.
However, in the West and in the East, attitudes toward the Bundeswehr’s participation in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine differ. In western Germany, 52% of people support such participation, while 65% of residents of the eastern states that once belonged to the communist camp were against it.
Reuters also quoted a defense ministry official as saying that Germany would not shy away from contributing if a common agreement is reached and the parameters of the mission are defined. However, any decision is likely to be made by the new German government after the federal elections on Sunday.
“European leaders are concerned that they are being excluded from negotiations on Ukraine’s future security. And while US and Russian officials are negotiating to end the three-year war, Europeans are considering possible options for participating in a future peacekeeping mission,” Reuters notes.
As you know, an emergency meeting of EU leaders took place in Paris on Monday, where it was confirmed that Ukraine “deserves peace through strength.” This was stated by its participants, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, in a joint message on the X network. They also emphasized that Europe is fully committed to its share of military assistance to Ukraine.
A new meeting may be held in a broader format
France is planning to hold a second meeting to discuss the situation around Ukraine and European security, but this time with the participation of European countries that were not present on Monday, as well as NATO ally Canada. Diplomatic sources told Reuters the day before.
According to the three diplomats, the format will be hybrid, including participation via video broadcast. Two of the sources said that Norway, Canada, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Finland, Romania, Sweden and Belgium were invited.
After the emergency meeting called by the French President on Monday, representatives of some European countries expressed dissatisfaction that the meeting was only for elected EU leaders.
