Alice Schwarzer and Sahra Wagenknecht are calling for a new Ukraine course in drastic terms.
There is talk of a “maximum retaliation” by Putin.
Berlin – Left celebrity Sahra Wagenknecht and well-known journalist Alice Schwarzer want to petition Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).
"We call on the Chancellor to stop the escalation of arms deliveries.
Now!” it says.
Shortly after the start of the Ukraine war, Schwarzer called for restraint in supporting Ukraine.
Among other things, Wagenknecht attracted attention with criticism of the Russia sanctions - partly to the displeasure of her own party.
In the current signature campaign entitled "Manifesto for Peace" they are resorting to sometimes drastic warnings, often wrapped in rhetorical questions.
Ukraine war: Sahra Wagenknecht and Alice Schwarzer warn of Selenskyj's "target" and "counterattack"
So legen Wagenknecht und Schwarzer nahe, der ukrainische Präsident Wolodymyr Selenskyj könne mit den öffentlich geforderten Kampfjets, Langstreckenraketen und Kriegsschiffen Russland angreifen lassen. Ziel sei es womöglich, „Russland auf ganzer Linie zu besiegen“. Scholz wiederum versichere bislang zwar, er wolle weder Kampfjets noch Bodentruppen senden. „Doch wie viele ‚rote Linien‘ wurden in den letzten Monaten schon überschritten?“
"It is to be feared that Putin will launch a maximum retaliation at the latest when he attacks Crimea," Wagenknecht and Schwarzer continue.
Then there might be a threat of “world war” and “nuclear war”, the petition leaders indicate in a rhetorical question.
At the same time, they emphasize that Ukraine can win individual battles, but not a war against the "world's largest nuclear power".
They refer to US General Mark Milley.
In November, he spoke of a “stalemate” in Ukraine.
Russia's "brutal attack": Schwarzer and Wagenknecht are still demanding negotiations
Schwarzer and Wagenknecht leave no questions unanswered when it comes to the authorship of the war.
“Over 200,000 soldiers and 50,000 civilians have been killed so far.
Women have been raped, children frightened, a whole people traumatized,” they write.
The "Ukrainian population brutally attacked by Russia needs our solidarity," it said.
“But what would solidarity be like now?
How long are we going to fight and die on the Ukraine battlefield?” ask Schwarzer and Wagenknecht.
“Negotiating does not mean surrendering.
Negotiating means making compromises on both sides,” they explain.
However, they do not explain what these compromises could look like.
But Scholz should "turn damage off the German people."
Peace wanted for Ukraine: mockery of Schwarzer Wagenknecht advance
The demand is not new - even if the philosopher Richard David Precht and the sociologist Harald Welzer reprimanded the lack of consideration of corresponding voices in the German media in 2022.
Such theses were not only discussed in large numbers on talk shows.
Critics object, among other things, that massive suffering is being inflicted on people in areas occupied by Russia.
At the same time, there are concerns about the "European peace order": If the Russian war of aggression is crowned by land gains, this could encourage Vladimir Putin and other autocrats to carry out further attacks.
Pictures of the Ukraine war: great horror and small moments of happiness
Pictures of the Ukraine war: great horror and small moments of happiness
Almost 13,500 people had signed by Friday afternoon (1.30 p.m.).
Among the first to sign were small party politician Jürgen Todenhöfer, the theologian Margot Käßmann and the songwriter Reinhard Mey, as well as PARTEI boss and satirist Martin Sonneborn.
Mockery came from Sonneborn's colleagues, the satirical medium
Der Postillon
: "Wagenknecht, Schwarzer and Putin call for the end of German arms deliveries," headlined the website on Friday.
Schwarzer in particular had repeatedly attacked Selenskyj.
Wagenknecht had only called for a "diplomatic initiative" in the ARD talk "Maischberger" on Wednesday.
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