Original version

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

The Real Story

Discussion & Talk

Factual: Politics

Global experts and decision makers discuss, debate and analyse a key news story.

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

The Real Story: Has Germany been holding back the war effort in Ukraine?

Factual

Has Germany been holding back the war effort in Ukraine?

20/01/2023 GMT

BBC World Service - The Real Story, Has Germany been holding back the war effort in Ukraine?

Germany, 'pacifism' and the war in Ukraine.

Germany's foreign policy is heavily influenced by the legacy of the two World Wars but when it comes to Ukraine has Chancellor Olaf Scholz finally reached a turning point?

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to one of the biggest shifts ever seen in Germany's post-war foreign policy.  Vladimir Putin managed to achieve what NATO allies spent years trying to: a massive increase in Germany's military spending and a commitment to NATO's spending target of 2% of GDP. As the conflict escalated, Germany's longstanding relations with Russia cooled, there was an end to Russian energy imports and Germany began sending some weapons direct to Ukraine. 

But back home Germans remain deeply divided about investing in their military given the long and painful shadow cast by the World Wars. A strand of pacifism has become deeply woven into German society and there are strong threads running through many of the political parties in power, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz's party, the Social Democratic Party. 

This week defence ministers meet at the military base in Ramstein in Germany to discuss what they will do next in Ukraine. Chancellor Scholz is under increasing international pressure to give the go-ahead for German-made battle tanks to be sent to Ukraine. 

So will the German Chancellor do what many of his Western allies want or will he continue to favour diplomacy in an effort to avoid provoking Vladimir Putin further? And, if Europe cannot agree, what does this mean for the future of European security and the EU project as a whole?

Photo: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz looks at weapons during a visit to a military base of the German army Bundeswehr in Bergen, Germany, in October 2022. Credit: REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer


Producers: Ellen Otzen and Pandita Lorenz

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Real Story

Has Germany been holding back the war effort in Ukraine?

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

About BBC World Service