Saxony's minister-president criticised in Germany due to his call to cut military assistance to Ukraine
Michael Kretschmer, Minister-President of the German state of Saxony and representative of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) opposition party, has called on Germany to reduce military assistance to Ukraine and has been heavily criticised for this idea, particularly by his own party.
Source: Spiegel, European Pravda reports
Details: Johann Wadephul, the deputy leader of the CDU parliamentary faction in the Bundestag, responded to Kretschmer's comments by saying that Germany has a duty to support "a country it invaded during World War II".
"We stand on the side of freedom, and we will fulfil our duty. This is a clear and unchanging position of the CDU," the politician stressed.
Jürgen Hardt, spokesperson for the CDU's foreign policy, agreed with Wadephul, stressing that the faction "has a common view" on further military assistance to Ukraine.
Marcus Faber of the Free Democratic Party also commented on the scandalous statement by the Saxon minister-president and head of the Bundestag's Defence Committee.
"I am disgusted that the Minister-President [of Saxony – ed.] is using Ukrainians' struggle for survival for his regional election campaign," he said, stressing that Ukrainians are fighting not because they want to fight, "but because they do not want to live in one big Bucha, where Russian soldiers are killing, torturing and raping indiscriminately".
In a recent interview, Michael Kretschmer said that he supports the reduction of military aid to Ukraine because Germany can no longer spend money on weapons "only to have these weapons used and achieve nothing".
Last year, the Saxon minister-president had already spoken about the possibility of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine if Ukraine temporarily abandons its territory, which caused outrage in Kyiv.
Kretschmer's position on aid to Ukraine is controversial among many CDU/CSU members, as it clearly contradicts the party line.
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