AreaRead the video transcript expand here
Now it's official: After weeks of wrangling and a lot of criticism, the federal government has decided to deliver at least 14 main battle tanks to Ukraine.
The German government is also allowing other countries to sell their German-made Leopard 2 tanks.
According to polls, Germans have long had different views on the issue.
What are the people saying about the decision?
Kurt Vick
“I'm torn at first.
Yes, in Ukraine.
It sucks what the Russians are doing there.
But more guns means more dead and more injured and more misery.
And besides, I don't know how far it goes.
That's why I don't like it.«
Wolfgang Koerner
»Yes, that's a good thing.
It could no longer be avoided, otherwise the Chancellor would probably have made a fool of himself in front of the whole world, I guess.«
Joerg Meyer
»I think that the people in Ukraine have to be helped there.
We do that here too.
But I don't think Germany should take part in an incalculable war."
Klaus Hielscher
»This is fueling the war.
Guns don't make peace, they make war, that's for sure.
And if we take part in it, it's our own fault.
And if at some point the Russians say: wait a minute, everyone who helped Ukraine is our enemy.
And what happens then?
I still say: The Third World War is just around the corner.«
Chancellor Scholz is apparently aware of such fears.
In the Bundestag today he said:
Olaf Scholz, Federal Chancellor
»There are many citizens in this country who are worried, also in view of such a decision and in view of the dimensions that this weapon entails.
And that is why I would like to say to these citizens here and at this point: trust me, trust the federal government.
Because we act in an internationally coordinated manner, we will continue to ensure that this support is possible without the risks for our country growing in the wrong direction.
That's why we do this.
And that's how we will continue to do it.«
Chancellor Scholz still wants to avoid an escalation of the war, but at the same time he wants to dispel the impression of some allies, especially in Eastern Europe, that Germany does not support Ukraine enough.
The balancing act continues.
