“Probably a new kind of weapon in the face of the perpetrator”

Omid Nouripour calls for sanctions on Russia after the collapse of the Kakhovka dam. Journalist Claus Kleber is less convinced of the effect.

The cause of the devastating rupture of the Kachowka dam in Ukraine has not yet been clarified. For Green leader Omid Nouripour, however, the culprit is certain. “Everything indicates that the Kremlin is responsible for this,” he said on Thursday evening on “Maybrit Illner”. According to the party chairman, this must not remain without rapid consequences. “The sanctions are needed and there will be more, especially after such a disaster,” he said.

• Omid Nouripour (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), party leader
• Christian Mölling, military expert
• Claus Kleber, former ZDF moderator
• Liana Fix, Russia expert
• Sabine Adler, Eastern Europe expert from Deutschlandradio

Nouripour promised quick support for Ukraine in other ways as well. He understands President Volodymyr Zelensky’s “outcry” over the slow arrival of humanitarian aid in the flooded area. “We all have to do better together as the European Union, as the West, and support Ukraine,” warned the Greens leader.

The ZDF journalist Claus Kleber on “Maybrit Illner” doubted whether the West’s sanctions against Russia had really made a difference so far. Apparently, people in Saint Petersburg would notice little of this. The verdict of longtime Moscow correspondent Sabine Adler was quite different. Many an oligarch living abroad openly criticizes the ruler Vladimir Putin because accounts have been blocked and children can no longer go to school in the West. The sanctions would work “where it hurts the oligarchs”.

In the meantime, there is “enormous resentment among the elite,” Adler stated on the ZDF talk show. What’s more, the powerful would arm themselves with private armies and arm themselves for a “civil war between elites.” Even the state-owned energy company Gazprom has set up a private army, allegedly just to defend its own infrastructure. According to the journalist, the powerful in Russia have long since been preparing to distribute the enormous wealth accumulated by the Kremlin if Putin is no longer in charge.

However, the Russian ruler still seems to be firmly in the saddle and, according to Adler, finally wants to see success in the Ukraine. According to the Russia expert, this could have been the reason for the possible blasting of the dam. “Maybe someone had to produce successes very quickly and only looked closely into the tunnel,” speculated the Deutschlandradio journalist in view of the negative consequences for the Russian army in the area.

“They also lose credibility in the region,” said ZDF journalist Claus Kleber on “Maybrit Illner”. “A new type of weapon has been drawn and may have exploded in the perpetrator’s face. Some plans will have to be rewritten.”

Has the Ukrainian offensive actually started in the meantime? Illner asked military expert Christian Mölling of the German Council on Foreign Relations. The head of the think tank’s Center for Security and Defense joked about the interpretation of troop movements in 50 Shades of Offensive – a nod to the best-selling novel 50 Shadows of Grey. However, he assumes that the main offensive of the Ukrainians is still pending.

However, drone attacks on Russian territory are apparently in full swing. Ukraine denies direct participation. For Mölling, however, such actions would be legitimate. Otherwise, one would convey to Russia that its infrastructure is secure in the war of aggression. “That would be completely wrong,” emphasized Mölling. But it is also clear: “No one will go to Moscow.”

Nouripour also underlined that Ukraine has the right to defend itself beyond its own territory. Concerned that Germany could become a party to the war by using its weapons on Russian territory, the Green Party leader said: “We will not allow that.” Selenskyj also ruled this out. But then Nouripour restricted: “I don’t know if he can keep it up, but of course we have to take him at his word.”