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Left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht: Most recently, she dismissed a Russian invasion of Ukraine as unrealistic
Photo: Jürgen Heinrich / imago images/Jürgen Heinrich
There will be no Russian invasion of Ukraine – Sahra Wagenknecht has been aggressively defending this position recently.
According to SPIEGEL information, the MP admitted at the meeting of the left-wing parliamentary group on Thursday afternoon that she had misjudged the situation in Ukraine and Russia.
Wagenknecht, former leader of the Left Party parliamentary group in the Bundestag, has said several times in recent weeks that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no intention of invading Ukraine.
For example, on the ARD talk show "Anne Will" on Sunday, she said that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would be "talked about."
"Russia has actually no interest in invading," said Wagenknecht, and continued: "We can be very glad that Putin is not what he is portrayed: a crazy nationalist who gets drunk on pushing borders."
According to those present, the left-wing politician has now admitted in the parliamentary group meeting that she was wrong.
She didn't think Putin would go that far.
Several MPs held the quotes up to Wagenknecht at the meeting.
A left-wing politician pointed out to SPIEGEL that others had shared this assessment, and that Wagenknecht was not the only one.
Other deputies, on the other hand, doubt that Wagenknecht's admission "came from the heart".
In the faction meeting, the position on the Russian invasion was discussed for a long time, it said.
In several speeches, the explanation of the party and parliamentary group leadership was found to be good.
"The bombing and the invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine are a new level of aggression by Putin, which we condemn in the strongest possible terms," said the statement by the two party leaders Janine Wissler and Susanne Hennig-Wellsow and the parliamentary group leaders Dietmar Bartsch and Amira Mohammed Ali.
Left now for sanctions?
There is still disagreement over how the left will react and whether, as a party, it should also support sanctions against Russia.
So far, the left had rejected all economic sanctions and described them as ineffective.
As it is said, the group is said to have wrestled with the question this time.
Several MPs are said to have expressed the wish for a course correction.
Wagenknecht in particular had recently been criticized within the party for her statements about Russia.
"Are you at least ashamed, Sahra Wagenknecht?" Asked the Thuringian left-wing politician Katharina König-Preuss via Twitter and distributed a corresponding excerpt from the "Anne Will" program.
"It's embarrassing..." added party leader Niema Movassat.
The left-wing foreign policy expert Sevim Dağdelen recently attracted attention by portraying Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a lie by US secret services.
On Thursday she suddenly tweeted: »The invasion of Russia in Ukraine should be condemned without any ifs or buts.
There is no justification for this war and it is a serious breach of international law.«
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