About four years after the attacks on the "Nord Stream" gas pipelines, the trial of the 50-year-old Ukrainian citizen and former special forces officer Serhiy K., who is accused of organizing and carrying out the large-scale sabotage of September 2022 in the Baltic Sea, begins today in Hamburg. Russian natural gas was supplied to Germany via "Nord Stream 1", while "Nord Stream 2" has not yet been put into operation due to Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine and the resulting political differences.
The trial is likely to fuel the debate about the aid that Germany provides to Ukraine. "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) will definitely use it for political purposes, believes the Greens' foreign policy spokeswoman Deborah Dühring. According to her, the AfD and the "Union for Social Justice and Economic Reason" (SSW), which until recently bore the name "Sarah Wagenknecht Union", will use the opportunity to turn this process into a debate on military support for Ukraine, writes the German public media ARD.
Last week, "Alternative for Germany" demanded a discussion on this issue in the Bundestag - this time the reason was that Chancellor Friedrich Merz traveled to Ukraine the night after Reunification. The foreign policy spokesman for the "Alternative for Germany" parliamentary group, Markus Frohnmeier, said that Merz had gone to "his true homeland" and criticized him for "bringing billions of euros" into the country.
Demands for punitive measures against Ukraine
"Alternative for Germany" claims that the money allocated for aid to Ukraine is urgently needed in Germany - for schools, infrastructure and the social system. According to the party, one should not support a country that has caused economic damage by participating in the explosion of the "Nord Stream" gas pipelines.
The AfD and the CCW now not only want to stop the billion-dollar aid to Ukraine, but also expect compensation and even the imposition of punitive measures against Ukraine, explains the ARD. According to Frohnmeier, this is the order of things, since the German government did not hesitate to impose sanctions on Russia for the attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle airport, even before the investigation was completed.
Who is applying double standards
While the AfD speaks of double standards on the part of the federal government, the Greens accuse the "Alternative for Germany" of applying double standards itself when it comes to Ukraine and responsibility for blowing up three of the four gas pipelines. According to the Green MP Dühring, we must "at the same time talk about the large-scale war crimes on the Russian side, which are happening every day and in which Russia protects the perpetrators".
Supporters of support for Ukraine, such as the Social Democrat MP Daniel Baldi, constantly put forward one main argument: that it was Russia that started the war against Ukraine. Added to this is the fact that the Russian president has consistently stated that this is not just a war against Ukraine, but against the "Western way of life" and that it goes even further. For Baldi, it is important to look at the overall picture, writes ARD. He recalls that even before the attacks on "Nord Stream" there was no longer a secure gas supply from Russia - for technical reasons, as the Kremlin announced at the time.
The fact that the case is being investigated and that politically sensitive moments are not being paid attention to is the right approach, the Social Democrat believes. Others share his opinion. If the trial establishes that representatives of the Ukrainian state were aware of the plans for this attack or even organized it, then there must be consequences, writes ARD. According to Baldi, however, the moment must be chosen for this. "If we refuse to support Ukraine now, this only benefits one person - Vladimir Putin. This is what AfD wants."
Defendant Serhiy K. and his defensePhoto: Markus Scholz/dpa/picture alliance
If aid to Ukraine is stopped, it will help Russia win the war, Deborah Dühring of the Greens is also convinced. In addition, according to her, such a development would motivate Putin to continue his aggressive campaigns against other countries, which would further undermine security in Europe.
"Support for Ukraine is not an end in itself"
The fact that the AfD and the CCW have managed to win the trust of voters in local elections, as happened in Saxony-Anhalt, for example, with their demands for a change in policy towards Ukraine and Russia, shows that there is a huge need for an explanation of the case. Chancellor Friedrich Merz also seems to understand this, because in recent days he has tried to explain the government's policy towards Ukraine and Russia in a more nuanced and detailed way than usual. According to him, the German government is addressing the accusations that financial aid to Ukraine is at the expense of German prosperity. "My answer is that support for Ukraine is not an end in itself. It is related to the security of Germany and Europe," Merz said.
According to the Greens, there is no point in weighing security and the welfare state. They point to special funds and point out that a large part of security and defense spending has been excluded from the debt-limitation mechanism. There is enough financial flexibility for both, ARD notes. However, the number of skeptics seems to be growing. Even in the corridors of parliament, there is vague talk of weakening support for Ukraine. This is a trend that could be fueled by the trial over the attacks on "Nord Stream".
Will the trial harm Ukraine?
Many in Kiev fear that the Hamburg trial could damage Ukraine's reputation. They expect a negative response in the media and fear that the case could be used for political purposes.
The question of whether the Ukrainian president actually knew about the operation or even ordered it remains open and is unlikely to be clarified during the upcoming trial. Zelensky himself has always denied Ukraine's involvement. According to investigative journalists, however, it is possible that both he and the former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army and current ambassador to London, Valery Zaluzhny, were aware of the plans, writes ARD.
Source: www.dw.com