Ukraine war
Federal government: training soldiers, no entry into the war
The Bundeswehr practices with armored personnel carriers of the “Marder” type on the Elbe in Saxony-Anhalt. Photo: Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert/dpa
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Will Germany become a war party with weapons training for Ukrainians? Critics of the German aid see themselves confirmed by a report by legal experts in the Bundestag. Right?
The federal government assumes that, under international law, Germany will not become a party to the war by training Ukrainian soldiers.
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht and government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit contradicted a report by the Bundestag’s scientific service on Monday, which did not rule out a certain risk under international law in such military training.
You do not share this assessment, said the SPD politician after a visit to the troops in Wunstorf near Hanover. “I assume that neither this training nor the delivery of weapons will lead to this, but if we send soldiers to Ukraine, that would be a very clear sign. But we won’t do that either. That won’t happen.”
Hebestreit said in Berlin that it was clear to everyone that one was always faced with a difficult decision. “We are convinced that the training of Ukrainian soldiers in Germany on weapon systems still does not mean direct entry into the war.” Lambrecht announced last week that Ukrainian soldiers would be trained on artillery systems on German soil.
International lawyers: case-by-case decides
The report, which was first reported by the editorial network Germany, dates back to March 16 and was therefore completed at a time before the federal government had decided to supply heavy weapons. It states that military aid to an attacked state is permissible. “Only if, in addition to the supply of weapons, the conflict party would also be instructed or trained in such weapons would one leave the secure area of non-warfare,” the report then states very cautiously. As a source, it only refers to a single interview with an international law expert in the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” on March 13th. In it, he points out that it also depends on the specific individual case.
According to their own statements, the scientific services of the Bundestag support the members of parliament in their mandate-related activities. Your work does not reflect the opinion of the Bundestag, one of its organs or the Bundestag administration. Rather, they are the technical responsibility of the authors.
Left Chairwoman Janine Wissler warned of a possible extension of the war to NATO territory and referred to the report. “We know that nuclear powers are facing each other and that this could be the slide into World War III,” said Wissler in Berlin. The German government’s decision to support Ukraine with heavy weapons could mean that the conflict is “dangerously close to the NATO border”.