Kremlin tries to build antiwar coalition in Germany, documents show

Marrying Germany’s far right and far left is a Kremlin goal, according to a trove of Russian documents reviewed by The Washington Post

By Catherine Belton

,

Souad Mekhennet

and

Shane Harris

April 21, 2023 at 2:00 a.m. EDT

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BERLIN — When 13,000 demonstrators gathered at the Brandenburg Gate on Feb. 25 to call for an end to weapons supplies to Ukraine, the protest was led by Sahra Wagenknecht, a member of parliament for Germany’s far-left Die Linke party and a firebrand with national ambitions. Wagenknecht decried the prospect that German tanks, soon to be delivered to Ukraine, could once again be used to shoot at “Russian women and men.”

“We don’t want Germany to be drawn deeper into this war,” she said, as she called for the creation of a new peace movement and condemned the bloodshed in Ukraine, without mentioning Russia’s invasion.

Among the crowd in Berlin was Jürgen Elsässer, editor of a far-right-wing magazine, and dozens of members of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party who cheered Wagenknecht’s calls to cut off Ukraine. Elsässer’s Compact magazine had recently declared on its cover that Wagenknecht was: “The best chancellor — a candidate for the left and the right.”

The coming together of political opposites in Berlin under the banner of peace had been percolating for months, though the union remains ad hoc and unofficial. But marrying Germany’s extremes is an explicit Kremlin goal and was first proposed by senior officials in Moscow in early September, according to a trove of sensitive Russian documents largely dated from July to November that were obtained by a European intelligence service and reviewed by The Washington Post.

The documents record meetings between Kremlin officials and Russian political strategists, and the Kremlin’s orders for the strategists to focus on Germany to build antiwar sentiment in Europe and dampen support for Ukraine. The files also chronicle the strategists’ efforts to implement these plans and their reports back to the Kremlin. The documents do not contain any material that records communications between the Russian strategists and any allies in Germany. But interviews show at least one person close to Wagenknecht and several AfD members were in contact with Russian officials at the time the plans were being drawn up.

The documents — details of which were broadly corroborated by officials in Western governments — show for the first time the Kremlin’s direct attempts to interfere in German politics by seeking to forge a new coalition among Wagenknecht, the far left and the AfD, as well as to support protests by extremists on the left and right against the German government.

The aim of a new political formation, according to a document dated Sept. 9, would be to win “a majority in elections at any level” in Germany and reset the AfD to boost its standing beyond the 13 percent the party was polling at then. The reset, laid out among the documents in a proposed manifesto for the AfD that was written by Kremlin political strategists, includes forging the AfD into the party of “German unity” and declaring sanctions on Russia as counter to German interests.

“Inadequate politicians, unable to calculate the consequences of their decisions, have dragged Germany into conflict with Russia — a natural ally of our country and of our people,” the manifesto stated. “Our interests demand the restoration of normal partnership relations with Russia. … Today in Germany there are only two parties: the party of enemies of Germany and the party of its friends.” It is unclear from the documents if the manifesto ever reached anyone in the AfD.

Secret trove offers rare look into Russian cyberwar ambitions

Efforts to build antiwar sentiment in Germany are part of a hidden front in Russia’s war against Ukraine as the Kremlin tries to undermine Western unity and freeze the war on its terms. Exploiting peace protests to divide the West repeats tactics that were first honed in Soviet times, and have come back to the fore since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Elsässer, 66, who has migrated from the Communist left to the far right over the course of his political life, first led demonstrations in the 1980s against the deployment of U.S. Pershing II missiles in West Germany. His Compact magazine is now described by German officials as a Kremlin propaganda outlet.

“We know [these tactics] from the Cold War, when the Soviets tried to influence and manipulate the antiwar movements,” said a senior German security official who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The files indicate that on July 13, first Kremlin deputy chief of staff Sergei Kiriyenko assembled a group of Russian political strategists and told them that Germany was to become “the focus” of Moscow’s efforts to undermine support for Ukraine in Europe.

The Kremlin’s proposed strategy would draw together two German factions with long-standing pro-Russian stances. Wagenknecht, 53, is a former Communist who grew up in East Germany and has clashed several times with the more traditional leadership of Die Linke, including over her populist stance against unauthorized immigration and her claims that the party was too focused on left-wing academic elites, not the working class.

Opinion polls show that her popularity is growing nationally and she is openly mulling forming a new party. German pundits predict she would draw support from the AfD’s base, and overall could garner up to 24 percent of the national vote, according to a recent poll cited by the German magazine Der Spiegel, which just put Wagenknecht on its cover.

Wagenknecht said in a statement to The Post that there would not be “any cooperation or alliance” between her “and elements of the AfD in any form.” She said that any suggestion that she may have received communications from Russian officials or their representatives proposing an alliance with the AfD was “absurd,” adding that she had “not been in contact with anyone from the Russian state or any of its representatives.”

The AfD — called the party of “Putin understanders” by some in Germany — has echoed the Kremlin’s view that the war in Ukraine was triggered by the United States and that Russia was simply defending itself from NATO encirclement while protecting Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine. Moscow has long cultivated dozens of AfD members, especially through lavish, all-expenses-paid trips to Russia, documents and interviews show.

It is not clear from the documents how the political strategists working with the Kremlin attempted to communicate with members of the AfD or other potential German allies about Moscow’s plans. But soon after the Kremlin gave the order for a union to be forged between Wagenknecht and the far right, AfD deputies began speaking in support of her in parliament and party members chanted her name at rallies. Björn Höcke, chairman of the AfD in Thüringen in eastern Germany, publicly invited her to join the party.

The AfD as well as its co-leader Tino Chrupalla declined to comment in response to questions about the alliance and whether the AfD had received any communications from the Kremlin or individuals close to it proposing such a union.

Some in the AfD described the Russian effort as predictable but not necessarily having any actual role in charting the party’s direction, especially since the two German camps held diametrically opposed views on running the economy. “Of course, the Russians are going to make use of every opportunity, but for them it is only theory,” said one AfD member of parliament, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive party matters. “It is some kind of theoretical battle plan. But it is not what we are practicing here.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied that the Kremlin was involved in any efforts to interfere in German politics. “This is 100 percent fake,” Peskov told The Post. “We never interfered before and now we really don’t have time for this.”

At least two key figures — one in the AfD and another close to Wagenknecht — said they were in contact with Kremlin officials or Kremlin allies at the time Moscow’s proposals for a coalition were being drawn up. In addition, three AfD lawmakers traveled to Russia on Sept. 20 but broke off the trip after less than a day following a public outcry — and censure from the AfD party leadership — over their plans to visit Donbas, the region in eastern Ukraine that is illegally occupied by Russia.

One of the individuals in contact with Russian officials was Ralph Niemeyer, Wagenknecht’s ex-husband. He told The Post that he was still in near-daily communication with Wagenknecht and that during recent meetings with top-level Kremlin officials in Moscow it was clear to him that “there are certain people in Russia who have [an] interest” in a union between Wagenknecht and the far right.

“I know from private talks with these people that they are aware of the potential that this would have,” said Niemeyer, whose house was raided in late March as part of a criminal investigation over his alleged involvement in a plot by the ultra-right Reichsbürger movement to overthrow the German government — allegations that Niemeyer denies.

Despite the Kremlin’s interest, Niemeyer said, Wagenknecht would never accept any support from Moscow. “That would immediately destroy this project because … you saw it with Marine Le Pen in France. She only borrowed some money from some Russian bank, and not even a donation, and that cost her the presidency. Sahra can’t make that mistake.”

Wagenknecht said she would not comment about her private contacts in response to a question about whether she was in frequent communication with Niemeyer.

The other individual was Petr Bystron, a charismatic AfD member of parliament. Bystron traveled secretly to Belarus for three days in November; he only acknowledged the trip after it was exposed by Lithuanian and German media. Bystron told The Post that he met with the Belarusian foreign minister and that the visit was a fact-finding mission to prepare an AfD peace initiative, not to discuss German politics. He said he did not meet with any Russian officials. An earlier trip he made to Kyiv to visit Viktor Medvedchuk, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who was under house arrest, not long before Russia’s invasion had also raised concerns among European officials, according to a European security official.

‘This is going to be complicated’

In early July, Putin declared that “even in the countries that are still satellites of the United States, there is a growing understanding that their ruling elites’ blind obedience to their overlord, as a rule, does not necessarily coincide with their national interests, and most often simply and even radically contradicts them.”

Days later, Kiriyenko summoned the political strategists to the Kremlin, and they began to try to exploit the perceived contradiction identified by Putin, the documents show. The political strategists had been told at the meeting with Kiriyenko that their main target was Germany, where they were to discredit the European Union, the United States, Britain and NATO while convincing Germans they were being harmed by the sanctions imposed on Russia, one of the documents dated July 13 shows. The share of the German population in favor of improving relations with Russia, Kiriyenko demanded, was to be boosted by 10 percent within a three-month time frame, a later document shows.

The Russian political strategists rued the difficulty of their task. “This is going to be complicated,” one of them noted. They immediately scrambled to work with Russian troll farms to pump out slogans for German social media platforms and protests — “Buy gas, not war” and “Ukraine wants war, Germany want peace.” Preparing slogans for protests over soaring energy costs formed another part of the strategy, according to the documents, though that issue failed to get much traction because of a mild winter in Europe and the German government’s ability to diversify energy supplies.

The campaign even extended to graffiti to be painted on walls across Germany and then photographed and placed in the German press, the documents show. These included a drawing of a fat “Uncle Sam” saying, “Bear it a few more years.” Another depicted German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock sitting on the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany, waving a Ukrainian flag and saying, “I don’t care what the Germans think.” It is unclear whether any of this graffiti appeared.

Russian disinformation is demonizing Ukrainian refugees

The strategists reported their progress at least once a month to Kremlin officials, the documents show, using a dashboard presentation to demonstrate the reach of their social networks, Telegram accounts and other media, such as a YouTube talk show, “Understanding the Russians,” set up in August.

By late August, the documents show, the strategists were compiling information about planned protests across Germany, from Neustrelitz, a small town north of Berlin, to Stuttgart in the west. The protests were to take place under the leadership of the far left or the far right, including demonstrations to be led by the Reichsbürger movement. The strategists hoped to use the rallies as an opportunity to promote their own agenda, a security official familiar with the documents said, adding that they may have initiated some of the protests.

Demonstrators taking part in protest walks held every Monday in Leipzig and Neustrelitz carried slogans drawn up by the Kremlin strategists, demanding in Leipzig: “Launch Nord Stream 2 immediately!”, “Lift the anti-Russian sanctions!” and “Lower electricity prices!” In Neustrelitz, they declared: “We want to live and not just survive!” and “What are we going to warm ourselves with in winter?”

‘You have to choose one side, especially in wartime’

For many AfD members of parliament, the party’s alignment with Russia over the war in Ukraine, and with the Kremlin’s anti-LGBTQ and anti-globalist agenda, is natural — and, they insist, not dictated by Moscow. The party was founded in 2013 in opposition to the German government’s handling of the euro-zone crisis, but it soon took ever-harder right-wing stances: anti-immigration and railing against what party members saw as Germany’s Atlanticist and liberal ruling elites.

“Normally, defending Ukraine would coincide with our own interests in the idea of national sovereignty. We believe in a Europe of fatherlands,” said Andreas Kalbitz, former chairman of the AfD in Brandenburg and a member of the party’s executive board until 2020, when he was ousted over his membership in a neo-Nazi group. “But this is a proxy war. And for many conservative people, Putin is the only big player working against the whole idea of Western liberalism. … You have to choose one side, especially in wartime. But you can’t say AfD is some kind of fifth column.”

Kalbitz, like many other AfD members of parliament, was a frequent guest in Moscow. The AfD lawmakers’ expenses, documents from the trove show, were often paid out of the Kremlin kitty, often through the “Russian Peace Foundation,” an organization chaired by the Russian parliament’s foreign affairs committee chief, Leonid Slutsky. The foundation “will cover the expenses for your trip to Russia,” said one such invitation from Slutsky to Kay Gottschalk, an AfD MP, dated Oct. 3, 2018, according to one of the documents. Gottschalk declined to comment.

Kalbitz insisted his Kremlin hosts had never offered the party money — and noted that Alexander Gauland, one of the AfD’s founding fathers, said the party would never accept if offered. But he conceded that he could not speak for every AfD lawmaker and said the Russians had frequently wowed their guests with sumptuous hospitality. In his case, that included an evening in one of St. Petersburg’s most ornate imperial palaces, the Yusupov Palace, rented out solely for the handful of AfD visitors and their Kremlin-connected hosts, complete with a private performance by soloists from the Bolshoi Theater. “The Russians believe they can do most things with money,” Kalbitz said.

Leaked emails from Russian officials, including an attache in the Russian Embassy in Berlin, previously reported in Der Spiegel in cooperation with the Dossier Center in London, have offered some insight into how the Russians viewed their German guests. “We will have our own absolutely controlled MP in the Bundestag,” one April 2017 email said of Markus Frohnmaier, an AfD member of parliament and a guest on several junkets. Frohnmaier has previously denied the assertion and didn’t respond to a request for comment from The Post.

Russia’s spies misread Ukraine and misled Kremlin as war loomed

AfD members and Niemeyer have continued to travel to Russia since the war began. When Niemeyer traveled to Vladivostok, a Russian city in the Far East, in September, he posted images on social media of his meetings at an economic forum with Peskov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Alexei Miller, chief executive of Gazprom, the Russian state gas giant.

Niemeyer said at the time he was there to negotiate a new gas supply contract through Nord Stream 2 with Moscow, on behalf of what he called “a German government in exile.”

The aim of the exercise was clear: a publicity stunt to try to put pressure on the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz to seek a new relationship with Moscow as German businesses smarted from soaring energy costs. Niemeyer told The Post he delivered a copy of the proposed contract to the chancellor’s office, and then told Alice Weidel, the AfD co-leader, who raised the issue with Scholz in parliament.

“She said, ‘What if we found out later that you were sitting on an offer from Gazprom and you didn’t sign it?’” Niemeyer said.

Niemeyer said he returned to Moscow following the Baltic Sea explosions that damaged the Nord Stream pipelines in September and was told by a top Kremlin official, Yury Ushakov, that supplies could still be delivered through Nord Stream 2, where one branch was undamaged in the explosions. During these meetings, he said, he was given a special encrypted telephone for communicating securely with Peskov, who, he said, is also interested in the effort to unite Wagenknecht and the AfD. Peskov did not respond to a request for comment about whether he gave an encrypted phone to Niemeyer.

“Peskov doesn’t openly speak about that because he can’t be quoted as saying, ‘We wish this happens in Germany.’ That’s domestic policy,” he said. “But I know from private talks with these people they are aware of the potential this would have. … That’s why I am talking to people who are more right-wing and saying, ‘Let’s forget about all the differences we have.’”

The idea of union with the AfD, he said, has so far not sat well with his ex-wife. Even though at the Feb. 25 protest, Wagenknecht said she welcomed everyone who was “pure in heart” and for peace and negotiations with Russia, she has balked at openly seeking an alliance with the far right, fearing it would cost her support on the left. Niemeyer said that if she formed her own party, she could garner about 10 to 20 percent of the national vote, drawing some AfD support. But if she officially forged an alliance with the AfD, Niemeyer asserted, without citing any specific polling, “she would probably be given a majority.”

“She is immensely popular in Germany, so she would win the chancellorship with that, yes,” he said, adding that he was already preparing a platform for Wagenknecht in hope that calls from Germany’s main opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union, for a parliamentary inquiry over Scholz’s handling of a tax fraud scam before he became the country’s leader could lead to early elections. The Russians “would immediately support her,” Niemeyer said, after spending a further two weeks in Moscow in April.

Some in the AfD are wary of joining forces with Wagenknecht, fearing she will end up diluting the potential of the party as a national force. While such an alliance could win AfD votes in east Germany, it would cost the party in the west, Kalbitz said. “Without the western part of Germany, the AfD will have no future on the level of the whole republic. We don’t intend to lose our standing. I don’t want to have one piece of cake when I can have the whole bakery. … We are not here to fulfill Russian dreams.”

But for Bystron, the AfD spokesperson on foreign policy, an alliance with Wagenknecht is attractive. “It is visible that on one side there is the globalist coalition and on the other side the populists, in the positive sense of the word.”

Bystron insisted any such alliance was happening naturally and had nothing to do with any Kremlin plans. AfD supporters had first joined with the far left for protests against restrictions during the pandemic, he said. “This coalition is already [here],” he said. “The people are on the streets. They are already there. They are standing side by side.”

Harris reported from Washington. Loveday Morris in Berlin contributed to this report.

One year of Russia’s war in Ukraine

Portraits of Ukraine: Every Ukrainian’s life has changed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion one year ago — in ways both big and small. They have learned to survive and support each other under extreme circumstances, in bomb shelters and hospitals, destroyed apartment complexes and ruined marketplaces. Scroll through portraits of Ukrainians reflecting on a year of loss, resilience and fear.

Battle of attrition: Over the past year, the war has morphed from a multi-front invasion that included Kyiv in the north to a conflict of attrition largely concentrated along an expanse of territory in the east and south. Follow the 600-mile front line between Ukrainian and Russian forces and take a look at where the fighting has been concentrated.

A year of living apart: Russia’s invasion, coupled with Ukraine’s martial law preventing fighting-age men from leaving the country, has forced agonizing decisions for millions of Ukrainian families about how to balance safety, duty and love, with once-intertwined lives having become unrecognizable. Here’s what a train station full of goodbyes looked like last year.

Deepening global divides: President Biden has trumpeted the reinvigorated Western alliance forged during the war as a “global coalition,” but a closer look suggests the world is far from united on issues raised by the Ukraine war. Evidence abounds that the effort to isolate Putin has failed and that sanctions haven’t stopped Russia, thanks to its oil and gas exports.

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HelsinkiSyndrome

11 hours ago

“she called for the creation of a new peace movement and condemned the bloodshed in Ukraine, without mentioning Russia’s invasion.”

When someone holds a 30 minute speech or writes a lengthy post here at WaPo about wanting peace, and not once mention that Russia invaded Ukraine, we know who that person works for.

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Muriel_NL

3 hours ago

Exactly. Either they are useful idiote or bought and paid for.

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Fred Natural

2 hours ago

And the WaPo carry's their water like we weren't discussing the rise of Hitler-II.And yes, you're either for Hitler-II or against. Time to be counted WaPo.

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Bruce G R

2 hours ago

It is helpful to understand the types of disinformation Russia is using.

We need stories like this so we don’t fall for it again.

It gave us Trump which was incredibly damaging.

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BHamel

11 hours ago

Russian intelligence already has experience in uniting a country's far left and far right to attack it from within.

They called it Brexit.

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G2Martin

9 hours ago

(Edited)

Things like that are only made possible via progressive attempts at open borders, which makes people furious. Progressives love nothing more than giving away other people's stuff.

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Progressive in Ohio

9 hours ago

Do your arms ever get tired from punching your straw man arguments?

your weird fantasy beliefs about what progressives think doesn’t make any sense at all

maybe you should try actually talking to some.

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Old and Blue

4 hours ago

Martin’s a moron, take it easy on him.

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TheIrishMoose

9 hours ago

You clearly are an expert and know what you are talking about. Just.. a couple of small things:

- The UK was never part of Schengen. The fact that they colonised half the world and people then followed them home is hardly a "progressive" thing. They are bow suffering from a shortage of labour since people from the EU no longer want to go there.

- Great Britain is an ISLAND. It by definition can't have open borders.

- Since the mid 70s, the UK had successive conservative governments with the centrist Blair and Brown in between. It is rather strange how the last 13 years of conservatives are somehow bot at fault for the UK's problems but everybody else is. Immigrants, the EU, progressives.. ANYONE other than the people in charge.

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Frankfurt2021

6 hours ago

@G2Martin: What a load of thoughtlessly prejudiced rubbish!

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Old and Blue

4 hours ago

Thanks for your input, moron. Have a nice day.

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evelinablu

9 hours ago

Right. There's no reason to worry about a fringe group of german morons: WaPo should rather focus on the huge desaster russian propaganda caused among english voters. English voters who will pay the price for ther foolishness for years, because they capped their country away from their biggest market. This will have consequences on their military, soon, because a weaker economy has problems supporting a good military. And guess who loves weakening a nuclear power like the UK? Putin.

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jackiesb

12 minutes ago

It alo worked with Trumpism in the US. I know more than one person who was formerly far far left - think communism - and turned to be rabid Trumpsters.

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Quintessential

10 hours ago

Not just Germany. This is their MO across the West. To divide societies via their most unstable elements.

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John1263

4 hours ago

No coincidence that the “most unstable” and easiest to dupe on all continents are from the conservative political right as it exists in various places

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Allgemein

2 hours ago

(Edited)

@John1263

I'm pretty liberal leaning and I agree with you partially, regarding how easy it is to dupe the right wing (I wouldn't even call them "conservative" -- they are not interested in conserving anything, they want to tear down and rebuild in a fascist way).

But I think you are wrong when it comes to the most left wing elements of many societies. I am not talking about main stream liberalism, such as what Biden stands for, which is really middle of the road policies actually.

But the radical left is just as nasty as the radical right, and while marginalized in the US, in the right local context it can be quite troublesome as well. As illustrated by this article, where the radical left and radical right in Germany come together to try and do nazPutin's bidding.

I have been wondering why the radical left in Germany is so fond of Putin's fascist russia. They are professing communists and supposedly pacifists as well. While the new russia is just straight up fascist and massively corrupt crony-capitalist. Which is clearly appealing to the radical right, in Germany and in the US. But to the radical left?

I think at least for Germany the answer is two-fold:

One, these people, most of them from the former East Germany, have a massive lingering Stockholm syndrome. After decades in soviet captivity before the Berlin wall fell they have developed an absurd positive emotional response to their former hostage takers, the soviets (i.e. russians).

And two, they are from the fraction of people that exist in every population that just like fascism when they see it, i.e. a societal model of oppression and abuse, regardless of whether it comes with some lipstick on it as in communism, or whether it is just the raw and most brutally pure form as exists in russia today.

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hideehi

14 minutes ago

I agree with your analysis, especially with East Germans and the Stockholm syndrome. I would add that before Soviet occupation the country was dominated by the German fascist Nazi regime. So people in the East lurched from one totalitarian state into the next, nannied from cradle to grave and to this day are missing exactly that. With regard to the older population, this includes not being able to freely think for yourself, to analyse various differing political opinions and then come to your own conclusion.

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Casimir Kielbasanova

9 hours ago

(Edited)

How about right here in the WAPO comments section.

Complaints that aide to Ukraine is only enriching the MIC.

Calls for appeasement.

Citoing the conflict as a proxy war of U.S. making.

Claims that Ukraine and the West gave Russia no choice.

Russia may be a failed state with a shrunken economy, incapable of equipping its poorly trained conscripts, losing its brightest young citizens, and grinding the remainder into hamburger; but it always has more money for more propaganda.

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AlanNShapiro

9 hours ago

I live in Germany. This is an excellent and very informative article. However, it ultimately falls on its face by descending into obsession with the question is this a conspiracy theory or is it "real." This does not matter at all. The point is the tragedy of misguided worldviews among many people here which are converging. Note also that SPD figures like Schröder and Lafontaine (Wagenkneckt's husband) were always simplified anti-Americans and "Putin understanders" mainly out for power and CASH.

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callas1

3 hours ago

It is difficult to describe for Americans the almost reflexive anti-Americanism of many Europeans, especially among the intelligentsia.

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RM Wyatt

2 hours ago

Examples?

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Opothleyoholo

7 hours ago

(Edited)

Putin's wartime disinformation campaign is global. When I mention Russia's abusive behavior in Ukraine to friends in Latin America, they are, for the most part, incredulous. Russia has sold a false story of being the hapless victim of big, bad Ukraine. Young, old, and well-educated folks want Russia to win the war. The ignorance is shocking.

Spanish language videos posted to YouTube are among the sources of this blatant disinformation.

Memo to Vladimir Putin: Slava Ukraini!

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SeekingToUnderstand

4 hours ago

I think the world should remain tethered to some simple facts.

Among those, Russia, without provocation, is murdering thousands of innocent Ukrainians and destroying their land.

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Hydromatick

4 hours ago

Destroying and taking their land.

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SeekingToUnderstand

4 hours ago

Good point.

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TheMelancholyDonkey

3 hours ago

And children.

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NL_from_Houston

3 hours ago

And they did the same thing in Georgia (2008) and the Crimea (2014), which was part of Ukraine. They did this after Russia signed an agreement with Ukraine in 1991 and with Georgia in 1995 that guaranteed independence to those countries. That didn't stop Putin.

That is why negotiating with Russia is useless at this point. To Putin, any agreement is only a temporary arrangement for him, until Russia is stronger to try again. Russia must lose this war and Putin must be removed from power before any peace can be negotiated.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Independence_of_Ukraine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia%E2%80%93Russia_relations

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Mizunoboy

3 hours ago

Nothing changes in Russia.

Holodomor 1932. Ukraine 2014 to the present day.

If at once you don't succeed, try, try, try again.

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Mizunoboy

3 hours ago

Despite the constant stream of propaganda the Russian people are subjected to, the time is fast approaching when we could reasonably argue that they've simply chosen to look the other way.

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Jack MacCoy

2 hours ago

And we can be sure the Russians are trying the same thing here in the United States.

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Rascally Rabbit

2 hours ago

Ayup.

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YoungKitC

2 hours ago

Evidence, please.

Oh, wait. You have none.

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Louis Ferguson

2 hours ago

I think you just provided evidence

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Stan Continople

2 hours ago

Cute, but no cigar

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YoungKitC

2 hours ago

I think you failed critical thinking.

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READ MORE OF THIS CONVERSATION >

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Bruce G R

2 hours ago

Actually yes. A Republican lead senate investigated Russian influence in US elections back in 2016 and concluded it absolutely did happen. As did many US intelligence reports.

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Jack MacCoy

2 hours ago

Young,

There is plenty of evidence of Russian attempts to influence public opinion in the US.

A group of four U.S. citizens and three Russian nationals have been charged in connection to an investigation into a foreign influence campaign.

The Justice Department (DOJ) said in a release on Tuesday that a federal grand jury issued a superseding indictment against the individuals, alleging they were working on behalf of the Russian government and with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the country’s main security and intelligence force, to influence U.S. politics over multiple years.

The indictment adds to a case the DOJ has been pursuing against Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, the founder and president of a Moscow-based organization called the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia. He was charged in July with conspiring to have U.S. citizens act as agents on behalf of the Russian government.

See: "US citizens, Russian nationals charged in influence campaign probe" - https://thehill.com/regulation/national-security/3957042-us-citizens-russian-nationals-charged-in-influence-campaign-investigation/

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JAJ MN

2 hours ago

Brexit. 2016 US elections. Plenty of proof the Russians influenced both.

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Allgemein

1 hour ago

That's right -- getting Agent Orange into the White House in 2016, still the most successful influence operation in the history of influence operations, an act of war by russia against the USA.

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JAJ MN

1 hour ago

I suspect Putin is more proud of Brexit. That has done long-lasting damage to the UK and the EU to a lesser extent. And that’s closer to home.

Putin is somewhat disappointed in Trump. Trump was supposed to damage NATO badly enough that Russia could annex Ukraine with little trouble, and expand from there. Putin badly underestimated the Ukrainians, and Joe Biden.

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Kerrancy

2 hours ago

Kyiv was a city 500 years before Moscow was a city.

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jimjol

2 hours ago

We definitely know which direction civilization spread from.

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Allgemein

1 hour ago

Or, rather, in which direction it attempted to spread until it stopped in its tracks.

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Outside_Opinion

7 hours ago

It is easy to change the minds of people who think they are smart but are actually dumb. With that being said, it looks like the Russians got to Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

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jimjol

2 hours ago

Those two more likely have worms in their heads.

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The Ghost of Haldeman Past

2 hours ago

Such a coalition is not “antiwar.” It is, rather, a tool to promote Russian wars of aggression. An obscenity.

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Horatio Hornswoggler

8 hours ago

During the 1970s, the Soviets armed and financed the Red Army Faction (aka the Baader-Meinhof gang) which committed acts of terror against US troops stationed in West Germany, among other things. They also supported and financed left-wing anti-nuclear groups which attempted to force the government to expel US nuclear weapons being stored in W. Germany.

Since Putin took over Russia’s post-Soviet government, his efforts have been to provide financial and political support to Neo-Nazi groups and the AfD in Germany as well as similar groups throughout Europe.

It is not surprising at all that he would try to sew together a Frankenstein movement of left and right wing groups in an effort to sabotage German public and governmental support for Ukraine.

European unity and European support for Ukraine have been very effective in preventing Putin from having his way with Ukraine. His desperation is clearly growing.

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I like science

2 hours ago

We’ve got the russian puppet Tucker Carlson and Fox working on things here.

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Fasteduardo

2 hours ago

Didn't Russia attempt to build an extreme right-left alliance in the U.S. when it invited Trump supporter Michael Flynn and Green Party candidate Jill Stein to sit at Putin's table at the celebration event for the propaganda website RT?

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Mustermann

2 hours ago

My boy, the US doesn't have a far left. It only has a few centrists and then goes progressively rightwing from there. Republicans are a natural ally tho. Fascists of a feather...

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Rascally Rabbit

2 hours ago

There actually is a far left. Just not as popular or numerous as the far right.

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Mustermann

2 hours ago

It's basically irrelevant as it has no represantatives. And it doesn't help that the average American is about as far to the left as Le Pen.

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archeopteryx

2 hours ago

If it has 5 people in it, does it really exist? Even Jill Stein doesn't count, dude.

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LarryL1970

3 hours ago

The Germans need to remember the food lines, machine guns on the walls, the bare shelves in the stores, and fear of being a captive in your own country. They need to remember East Berlin... with rats in the streets, Russian troops, and the fear and desperation of the people forced to live like captive animals.

Russia never, ever tells the truth.

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Frankfurt2021

2 hours ago

"The" Germans do - be assured. It's just a minority that doesn't, and it's just 12-15% that are in favor of the right-wing AfD and just 5% voted for the left wing party.

If you compare that to nearly half of the US population that supports the corrupt, authoritarian, theocratic, demagogic, democracy-threatening Republicans in the US ... ?

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Only1world

7 hours ago

Well, luckily the fools seem to be

in the minority in Germany.

But the people in the eastern areas

of Germany do resemble the

Red State Hillbillies a little.

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TheTschermanComments

7 hours ago

True!

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Ureelymeandat

7 hours ago

Republicans in this country should be ashamed at the amount of Kremlin propaganda they have swallowed…Trumpers are Putin lovers….

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Steffen Reinke

7 hours ago

(Edited)

History repeats itself in interesting ways. I can't help but think of WW1, when Imperial Germany used Russian politicians to topple the tsarist government so as to take that country out of the war. Fortunately this newest scheme by the Kremlin's agitprop department stands to be less successful -- considering the fact that total support for AfD and Die Linke is hovering at about 20% (https://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/), I would consider Niemeyer's vision of a majority for Wagenknecht a fever dream.

Still, twenty percent of the populace is a sizable number, and with persistent socio-economic issues as a consequence of Reunification still fueling a sense of Russophilia in former East Germany, it makes perfect sense for the Kremlin to fan the flames, much like they've interfered in US or UK politics in the previous years. It is therefor vital to expose awkward links such as these publicly, in the hopes that some of the disgruntled populace, especially the so-called protest voters, realize how they are being played and who their "heroes" really are, i.e. who they are going to bed with politically.

The crazy thing is, with Wagenknecht I even think she genuinely believes what she's saying, and her demagoguery is a sad development considering the economic ideas she had once pushed earlier in her career. However, her deeply rooted Anti-Americanism has metastasized to the point where she probably doesn't even realize that, like Assange, she has become just another "useful idiot" for Moscow, in her case a wedge to be pushed between Germany and the rest of EU/NATO.

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GazeboGolashes

34 minutes ago

(Edited)

This is another reason why it’s so critical for all Western countries that Russia is soundly defeated in Ukraine.

It’s a lot harder for the Kremlin to get their message across to seditionists and useful idiots in the US, Germany, and elsewhere if Russia is utterly defeated in Ukraine. Losers don’t sell as well.

Give Ukraine the F-16s and ATACMS, more tanks, and whatever else they need to win. Aiming for a draw is not enough.

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Allgemein

20 minutes ago

Yes, ATACMS, they need to be sent already, agreed! They would very likely settle this whole thing for Ukraine rather quickly, more than any other weapons system that is being pondered.

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Michael1978

1 hour ago

In this case, "anti-war" is identical to "pro-Russian victory"

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tsomm19

1 hour ago

Precis.

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Robert W Komoroski

2 hours ago

Looks like Marjorie Taylor Greene is running for Chancellor, too.

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Jack MacCoy

2 hours ago

Bob,

Except the German MTG is on the Looney Left.

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Allgemein

21 minutes ago

@Jack

Not quite -- yes, Wagenknecht is on the Looney Left in Germany, but the Looney Right also has one, I think her name is Storch or something like that. It really is a situation of U-shaped, communicating pipes there.

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Critical Rationalist

2 hours ago

Well the Kremlin already purchased the GOP and Rupert Murdoch, as well as a slew of European politicians. Now the Russians are just looking for a return on their investment.

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jeagerca

2 hours ago

A tankie is someone, traditionally from the far Left but increasingly from the far Right as well, who is more interested in sticking it to the liberal democratic West in general, but to the US in particular than in calling out the brutal invasion, bombardment, rape, torture, ethnic cleansing and murder by the Russian criminal kleptocratic state.

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augsburgsoldier

2 hours ago

Named after the Soviet tanks that rolled over Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Hungary in 1956.

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jeagerca

2 hours ago

Thank you, I wondered about the origin of the term. I knew it referred to the propensity of the far Left to play down and even outright justify the brutality of Stalin and the Soviet system in general, but I didn't know that it literally referred to the actual tanks that rolled into Czechoslovakia and earlier into Hungary.

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Otto Normalverbraucher

9 hours ago

"...former chairman of the AfD in Brandenburg and a member of the party’s executive board until 2020, when he was ousted over his membership in a neo-Nazi group...."

Laughing about the apparent redundancy of the sentence, since that party is nothing else but a neo nazi group with lots of gullible followers.

Which is important to be understood in the USA, since Putler is definitely using the same supportive tactics in the country to organize cores of fascist extremists into growing movements.

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nytdhb

1 hour ago

This is evidence, if not proof, that Putin is not solely focused on Ukraine.

Ukraine is the first step in his dream of an authoritarian Europe.

Appealing to right wing Germans shows he wants to marry the Soviet Union to Nazi Germany.

If that is not a reason to aid Ukraine then there is nothing left to do but start learning to read and speak Russian.

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jeagerca

1 hour ago

And put on a T-shirt reading "I'd rather be Russian than Democrat".

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nytdhb

1 hour ago

The over fed wearers of those t-shirts may have already had health problems treated through ObamaCare.

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zwiefldraader

1 hour ago

And would be already dead without Obamacare

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JAJ MN

59 minutes ago

See Carlson, Tucker for more details.

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nytdhb

52 minutes ago

I wonder if he is taking lessons on speaking Russian.

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READ MORE OF THIS CONVERSATION >

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Sagemeister

2 hours ago

The Russkies are doing the same thing here with their comrades in the GQP.

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whengoodmendonothing

1 hour ago

Yup

https://www.businessinsider.com/maria-butina-russian-spy-sentencing-in-april-nra-2019-3

And

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/19/world/europe/maria-butina-russia-duma.html

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zwiefldraader

1 hour ago

But the German political system is much harder to override for it's reliance on coalitions.

The crazies are the same 20-30% as in the US.

But in Germany it's not possible to win a governing majority that way.

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consider_the_alternative

2 hours ago

I think this leak has a surprising effect of helping make a case for continue Ukraine war support from NATO.

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Bill Cat

2 hours ago

It spattered it across the front pages of news outlets across the globe. Being on the front pages helps a lot. Russia always looks like the aggressor and loser.

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jeagerca

2 hours ago

Because Russia has always been the aggressor and loser.

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RM Wyatt

2 hours ago

Here’s a factoid…

The historic town of Concord Massachusetts, best known for being the birthplace of the American revolution to overthrow a tyrannical King, very recently DENIED the application of a well established citizens group “Concord for Ukraine” to participate in the towns annual Patriots Day Parade.

The reason from the “parade committee” (which includes the chair of the Concord Republican Committee and at least one proud MAGA (there may be more closeted ones )) :

It’s “too political “

This!

From the birthplace of the American Revolution.

This affluent little Town should be so ashamed.

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RM Wyatt

2 hours ago

(Edited)

Kremlin joins up with extreme right wing in western democracies……

Remember in Helsinki when the “leader” of the worlds oldest democracy, elected by a gerrymandered EC, took the word of a Russian despot named Putin over that of trained US intelligence experts?Remember that ?

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Mike JT

2 hours ago

(Edited)

I’m still sore about that one. Even if you had a legitimate gripe against the US intelligence community, you don’t diss your team publicly, especially in front of the enemy. At best it’s poor leadership; at worst it actively undermines them and aids said enemy.

That settled in my mind that TFG was, whether he knew it or not, a Russian asset.

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RM Wyatt

2 hours ago

That orange moron never even read the intel. briefings (he wouldn’t have understood them anyway)

What a colossal disgrace and global embarrassment he was.

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Jack MacCoy

2 hours ago

RM,

Had Trump been president on December 7, 1941:

"I've spoken with General Tojo and he assures me that Japan did not bomb Pearl Harbor. He is a strong leader. I mean I don't know, but he assures me Japan did not. I'm talking to some very smart people."

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Ventura Hwy

2 hours ago

(Edited)

Amazing how good they are at propaganda and yet... 167,000 Russian soldiers estimated dead in Ukraine. Can you imagine what it would be like here if the United States lost 167,000 soldiers all at once in a ridiculous, criminal assault on a neighboring country? Going into Iraq was terrible error, but at least we weren't incompetent once there. 167,000 soldiers?!? Like they all just walked off a cliff together.

It's just astonishing. Their "best" went in first and were completely wiped out. They are dead. They've been sending wave after wave of barely trained conscripts to die for months now. And now apparently they are putting them in their airplanes.

Meanwhile, over here...Tuckyo Rose is feeding Putin's propaganda to our old folks over at FOX every night. Too bad, because 30 years ago, those old Republicans would have enjoyed seeing the Russian military fall apart like this. Now... they are supposed to hate the freedom fighting heroes and support the murderous dictator. And they are just falling in line. Wow.

Why sacrifice his own troops like that when getting Americans or Germans, or (insert people-who-should-know-better here) to just pour poison into ears of millions at once is so much easier and more effective.

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Mike JT

2 hours ago

Kudos for “Tuckyo Rose.” I’ll have to remember that one.

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Ventura Hwy

2 hours ago

I heard it from Malcolm Nance. Very good.

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anotherfacet

2 hours ago

I think that if I were one of those badly trained conscripts, I would shoot an officer so that at least one of them would go with me.

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SeekingToUnderstand

2 hours ago

Perhaps that is happening.

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Ventura Hwy

2 hours ago

I would guess that's happening too.

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KMan82

2 hours ago

(Edited)

Good jab, but I prefer Tuckero Rose. Sounds like SpaghettiOs which is an instant food like the kind that Swanson Foods, of which he's an heir, makes.

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uros.piper

2 hours ago

State Department should send a covert team and arrest leaders of AfD and Linke. Enough it's enough. German government can't complain, because if they do, that would be a signal that Kremlin has their man even in the Berlin circles.

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B Civil

2 hours ago

AfD has been under surveillance by Germany’s domestic intelligence service since at least 2020, according to BBC reporting at the time.

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uros.piper

2 hours ago

Not enough. US should step in. Arrest them. There are Black sites in Romania and Bulgaria, send them there. If chancellor Shultz has a problem with that, expel Germany from NATO. It's time to show force, and I am sure that Biden administration has a courage to do that!

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Allgemein

16 minutes ago

@uros.piper

I applaud your strong anti-AfD sentiment, but beyond that your comments do not make any sense in the real world.

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Watching the river flow

51 minutes ago

Kremlin tries to build antiwar coalition in Germany

The only thing building is resistance to Putin's war.

Putin: "Remember how you guys were so supportive of destroying other countries back in WWII? Remember how good that made you feel? Why would you want to take that away from me? So selfish."

Good luck with that, Vlad. When you get impaled, I hope it is slow and in the middle of Red Square.

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jeagerca

1 hour ago

I'm not downplaying or defending the US here, we all know that the US has plenty to answer for. A great deal in fact. But that's not the issue in Ukraine.

The US did not invade Ukraine in February, 2014 and again in February 2022, Russia did.

The US did not deliberately target hospitals, schools and apartment blocks in Ukraine, Russia did.

The US did not launch repeated drone and missile attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, Russia did.

The US did not deliberately pound villages, towns and cities into rubble with heavy artillery in Ukraine, Russia did.

US troops did not indiscriminately and deliberately torture and kill civilians in Bucha and other Ukrainian towns and cities, Russia did.

US troops did not brutally murder POWs and their own deserting soldiers in Ukraine, Russia did, and bragged about it.

It's those facts that tankies are obviously having trouble coping with.

Much to the delight of Putin.

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nytdhb

1 hour ago

Thank you.

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IngolfDK

40 minutes ago

Great comment! So true!

We must remember how this war started: Russia chose it.

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Jacalyn

1 hour ago

It's been obvious to me for years and years that it is happening here as well. For proof, I cite the Russian oligarch's contribution to the NRA in 2016.

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JAJ MN

1 hour ago

Brexit. Our 2016 election. Putin’s biggest victories in the past ten years.

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TomGen

2 hours ago

If Die Linke were truly anti-war they would condemn the Russian invasion and the seizure of Crimea 9 years ago as well as support the sanctions against Russia to punish them for their bad acts.

Instead they accuse the German governing coalition of doing everything wrong and support nothing that would cause Putin's Russia pain.

They are the victim of their own propaganda as much as Putin is a victim of his own. Not looking at reality, but instead invoking some fairy tale makes them seem like a very unserious group, and basically agreeing with the AfD makes them nothing more than another group of Russia's useful idiots.

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jeagerca

2 hours ago

In other words, they are nothing more than tankies.

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Sidewalk Bob

3 hours ago

Putin's armies may be getting smashed but...

... his propaganda war here and elsewhere is hitting on all cylinders...

Just listen to Trump and his stooge cultists...

Word for word, 100% Putin...

The End

"Woke" Bob

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RFPriddy

58 minutes ago

It's becoming apparent that Putin cannot successfully wage a traditional war against a competent foe, but in the cyber territory, his minions have been very successful. From shoring up Trump to stirring up unrest in Europe, creating chaos in Syria and propping up puppets in old USSR states, Putin's only real hope is to make others turn on themselves through political disruption and fear mongering.

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Hydromatick

47 minutes ago

Our best hope is that the rumors are true and Putin passes from the scene quickly, and he's replaced by someone who's not a former KGB functionary with out-of-control nostalgia for the Soviet days.

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You never expected the inquision

1 hour ago

(Edited)

That is a totally amazing if predictable story. What is even more amazing, and at this point quite predictable, is the fact that the Russians are managing the Republican legislators here in the US and the Cons are going along with it lock step with the Kremlin. Expect death and destruction in Ukraine if these fascists get their way.

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Joshu Jones

1 hour ago

Imagine voting for an authoritarian leader just to stop your country helping Ukraine defend itself from a Russian invasion.

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nytdhb

1 hour ago

Astonishing that some would consider that much less do it.

It sometimes seems AMERICANS are so comfortable with their wealth of freedoms that they don’t even notice them.

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You never expected the inquision

54 minutes ago

Yep, that's what fascists do. Remember that.

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Elledrice

5 hours ago

Someone in comments to another article called me a "Trumpist" because I noted how the far left can be duped by Russian propaganda. Behold, this article explaining exactly what I was talking about. My only surprise is that the fact that Russia's goal is to create disunity in the West, and that it doesn't really care whether it does so from the right or left, is not more widely understood.

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slox17

4 hours ago

You apparently read only half of the article. Russian propoganda was targeting both the Left and the Right in Germany.

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Elledrice

3 hours ago

(Edited)

Where did I say Russia wasn't generating propaganda targeting the right???!!!

I'm only saying that Russia ALSO targets the left. We just don't tend to see it as much here in the US because the right wing propaganda is far more successful. But the propaganda aimed at the left is easily seen if you look for it. *points to certain Jill Stein voters*

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/russians-launched-pro-jill-stein-social-media-blitz-help-trump-n951166

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itsnotarehearsal

2 hours ago

More successful on the right since the left is generally better educated, with stronger thinking and analytical skills, and thus better prepared to recognize propaganda for what it is.

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callas1

3 hours ago

(Edited)

I've had exactly the same treatment for the same reasons. I wonder if some of those responses are not out of St. Petersburg.

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Bruce G R

2 hours ago

It has been documented that Russian influence in the US was using agitprop to inflame both white supremacists and BLM protesters and drive them into physical conflicts by creating simultaneous protests.

There was even one case where an alleged dead black kid was a total fake story created by Russia to trigger a protest.

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Phunster

43 minutes ago

“'We don’t want Germany to be drawn deeper into this war,' she said, as she called for the creation of a new peace movement and condemned the bloodshed in Ukraine, without mentioning Russia’s invasion."

Sahra sounds somewhat like Chamberlain did in the late 30's....appeasement and ignorance won't defeat Russia.

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nvamoderate

49 minutes ago

Extremists will try to destroy our system & take control. It's what they do. Always.

In the case of today's Germany, the Left will deny, hide from reality & suffer from historic guilt.

That's music to Russian & Right-wingers' ears, making their path to dominance all the easier -- "Thank you, pacifists!"

A similar crisis exists in our threatened democracy: our Democratic leaders kow-tow to the scurrilous whims of a Mitch McConnell (as when he blocked Barack Obama's SC pick a year out) & we never seem to convince enough GOPs to shift their votes the way GOPs have won over Sinema & Manchin.

I want Democrats ready to fight for our values. We need new & younger leaders like Katie Porter in the House & others who can win over swing voters among independents & moderates to unabashedly progressive, common-sense stands, like gun safety & better quality of life in the US -- and supportng Ukraine. Let the Maga GOPs & Margie Greene's stew in their own juice -- I want old school style Democrats ready to fight Maga's fire w/fire, hatred w/tolerance & lies w/undeniable truth.

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Hugh Jowl

45 minutes ago

Katie Porter rules. I love that woman.

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TishTish

2 hours ago

russians are murderous pigs. Give Ukraine everything it needs to push the swine back to moscow. And, keep the sanctions in place for several generations because russians are also slow learners.

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Allgemein

2 hours ago

Agreed in general, but why do you have to drag the poor pigs into this?

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TishTish

2 hours ago

(Edited)

My apologies to Porky and his friends for bringing them down into this mud.

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Abohac

1 hour ago

(Edited)

100 years of sanctions on 140 mil people with 6000 nukes? Doesn't sound very good to me.

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TishTish

1 hour ago

Then, much as russians have, just become accustomed to more Aleppos, Chechnyas, Ukraines, etc.

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W0X0F_

2 hours ago

Problem is, they aren't calling for the end of Russian aggression.

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Lapuraneta

3 hours ago

Bystron traveled to Belarus, said that he did not meet with any Russian officials. Ha! Belarus is Russia; the Belarus government is a subsidiary of the puton mafia.

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cbl55 Sylvester the Cat

3 hours ago

(Edited)

Shame on you if you find even a smidgeon of this surprising in the least. This is the Kremlin’s standard modus operandi. Only surprised Die Welt or other top-notch German investigative journalists haven’t uncovered evidence of this beforehand. Russia could not possibly get what it wants from us without this kind of subterfuge, designed to hoodwink, gaslight, twist and reshape “truth” to its vicious liking.

The Washington Post harbored far too many Russian trolls — almost all of them straight from Minsk Central Casting, complete with beet — on its comment pages far too long. Now it’s gotten a bit wiser. But knowing only a little bit about Russia and Ukraine helped you to spot these preposterous phonies a mile away. Filled with jibber-jabber designed to make you think — even for a split second — they were principled Americans. Don’t vhee in Amerika do same tings? Vhee not just as guilty? All designed to babble their GRU-written, whiny waddaboutism under the supposed banner of pacifism. Their handles were as goofy as their diarrhea diatribes — “NascarMom4Evr” and “Andrew Clifford” and even “A Patriotic Veteran” complete with goofy little Amerikanskiy flag lapel pin avatar.

Russia is losing its chosen war of genocidal insanity. An entire generation of talented, Russian men fleeing the country rather than serving as yet another bed of fertilizer for future Ukrainian sunflowers testifies to this. Keep Ukraine supplied with modern weaponry, and watch the brutal regime in the Kremlin die of a million self-induced cuts. And never forget for a second who chose this and why.

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Dallas327

4 hours ago

Wagenknecht, with her pro-Soviet upbringing, is endorsing Russia and extremism as a path to power. She’s whitewashing the illegal and unprovoked war, genocide, and war atrocities that Putin solely owns. And for Putin, the investments in the radicalization of the AfD and the Linke are paying off much like his investments into Trump, the MAGA GOP, Fox and the right-wing echo chamber.

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NeroCorleone

5 hours ago

„This coalition is already [here],” he said. “The people are on the streets. They are already there. They are standing side by side.“

That‘s delusional. Except that demonstration in Berlin, there are only a couple of hundreds demonstrating, too irrelevant to make it to the national media.

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a German viewpoint

5 hours ago

Putin does not need to be very imaginative about his plan to undermine German democracy through extrem left and right wing parties. He simply looks at what happened in Germany in the 20ies and early 30ies of the last century. The Weimarer Republik was brought down by communists and fascists.

However, as Putin lacks imagination he forgets that the memory of fascist Third Reich and communist East Germany are still vivid in my country. And we witness the brutality of his armies an Ukraine soil.

Putin will go down as one of the worst leaders in Russian history. And likely he starts to imagine just that. Germany will not save his skin.

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ophelia3

4 hours ago

(Edited)

Who attacked German infrastructure by sabotaging your pipeline?

Instead of being so good at following orders and obeying commands a little critical thinking and questioning might better serve Germany's interest.

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TheTschermanComments

3 hours ago

The answer is: 4 specially equipped russian naval ships detected and photographed by a danish patrol boat very close to Northstream roughly 3 days before the pipeline blew up. We will follow the order of logic firstly and thereafter we think very critically about Russia and feel free and are free to express this openly which is exactly what serves our country's best interest. The order and command you have got to write this rubbish is revealing that you had no other choice

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Frankfurt2021

54 minutes ago

@a German viewpoint:

The Weimarer Republik was brought down by communists and fascists.

No. It was brought down by the fascists only. The then-communists - and social democrats - were persecuted, arrested, tortured, and murdered by the fascists.

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Carthago_Delenda_Est

11 hours ago

The far left and the far right politicians are easily bought, and their voters gullible and easily led.

Buying a center-left prime minister was the real Russian coup in Germany. Gerhard Schroeder may have outlived his usefulness to the Russians, but he remains the template and goal.

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Exilhamburger

11 hours ago

(Edited)

For me here in germany, that isn't really breaking news!

Russian influence through social media etc. is known by all those who are willing to listen to a lengthy radio feature on programms like 'Deutschlandfunk' or my more local WDR 5...

Or for those who like some moving pictures:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg8nQgqqvOI

from the Heute show, as in today show...

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Henny Beck

30 minutes ago

Nazism and far Right extremism are happening all over the world. We need to do everything we can to fight those mfers?🧐

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purple dragon

45 minutes ago

First one of the leaks I find useful. Sure, we knew Russia was sponsoring the far right and probably some in the far left, but now we've got the proof.

Afd is really a rogues gallery. One does not envy Scholtz' job. But there are bright sparks in this: the energy blackmail failed, that much is visible now. And Moscow's schemes are coming to light. There really is not that much love lost between the Germans and the Russians. I'd be surprised, if Putin could pull this off.

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Jose von Washington

1 hour ago

It is very common for extreme left and extreme right to unite in their hate of a democratic government and support for a "strong" leader.

Both extremes have messianic agendas and know everything, so discussions and debates, typical for democracy, are not needed.

We have similar opponents in the US, which are against supporting Ukraine.

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Callahanstudio

46 minutes ago

Yes, facism and totalitarianism meet on the other side of the circle 180 degrees opposite democracy.

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gbeck106

1 hour ago

Hitler did the same thing with the left and the right in the early days of WWII. Leftists--who were in bed with the communists--said that Hitler's invasion of Poland was ok because well, the Soviets did it too. The Right said that Hitler was one of them and should be supported.

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Citizen_Commenter_is_back

2 hours ago

(Edited)

So unbelievably sick of Putin and his cronies. Overthrow him and start acting like a normal democratic nation already. You’ve completely torched your standing in the world with this guy.

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tlagrone

2 hours ago

"...with Russia — a natural ally of our country and of our people,”

Putin doesn't have allies, just countries that he isn't currently threatening. Hard to ignore the Russian television programs where they threaten to march into Warsaw, Berlin and London.

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jeagerca

2 hours ago

Russia has never had allies, only enemies of it's enemies.

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JAJ MN

2 hours ago

Putin’s allies are not countries but individuals who share his view of how government should work. Autocrats are threatened by democracies more than anything else, so anti-democracy forces are natural allies. Autocrats in Russia, China, Hungary, Brazil, and the United States are all working toward the same goal. There’s a reason Republicans in the 80s adopted a strategy of systematically attacking government, media, science, and academia. Those institutions are pillars of a strong democracy.

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Wolfie Smiths pet ferret

3 hours ago

Not just Germany, I'll wager they've been trying these tactics elsewhere too. The NRA and GQP seem to like Russian rubles.

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Casual Route

3 hours ago

See MTG - she is praising the traitor Texiera for being antiwar.

Half the GOP reps that have spoken on this are anti support of Ukraine.

It has already happened.

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Tellya

6 hours ago

The Kremlin should focus on building an antiwar coalition in Russia, or as they would call it: an "anti special military operation" coalition.

Russia is a terrorist nation.

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Mememe1234

6 hours ago

The Kremlin should build an anti-war coalition? In what alternative reality do you live?

Perhaps, I misunderstood what you're trying to say.

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Forrest Grump

7 hours ago

Sahra Wagenknecht, useful idiot. At least we know what Putin is doing with some of his hard currency besides laundering it through real estate in the West.

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BHamel

56 minutes ago

I wouldn't want to make sweeping generalisations like "Ossies don't get democracy."

But ... Ossies don't get democracy.

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Hydromatick

49 minutes ago

Part of the whole Ostalgie thing, I guess?

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jeagerca

41 minutes ago

Well played.

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BAD PR

1 hour ago

Not really "above the fold, front-page news" here. The Ivans have been doing this for decades. It's called Active Measures, something that is extremely effective with low overhead. Hopefully, our Germans friends will reject extremism while building a robust defense ecosystem.

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Just changed my name

1 hour ago

And Putin did this to get Trump elected, too.

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nytdhb

1 hour ago

This is a warning to the entire Western world that Putin is actively trying to create an authoritarian rule anywhere and everywhere he can.

It definitely IS “above the fold news”.

Sorry.

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JDawgitty

2 hours ago

Things to watch for:

* "The far left and far right are both crazy"

* "We must do this to protect the children"

* "The left is a bunch of pedophiles"

* "Woke is fascist marxism"

* "It's so confusing! Shoot everyone that brings you discomfort."

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mimi28

2 hours ago

And it all sounds like the Rightwing Americans. The Commie lovers.

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deepdoodoo

2 hours ago

Be careful doing business with Vlad the Thief.

Keep your windows locked and stop drinking tea.

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consider_the_alternative

2 hours ago

Did the moderator just canceled mentioning of lack of underwear?

Strange.

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TishTish

1 hour ago

And, don't go above the second floor in any building.

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Poppy Geranium

2 hours ago

Don’t any of these people study the lessons of WWII? Appeasement doesn’t work. It didn’t work when Neville Chamberlain and Stalin tried it with Hitler.

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Jack MacCoy

2 hours ago

Poppy,

The "lessons of history" are largely dependent on one's current frame of reference.

Lots of Germans, particularly those who grew up in the DDR, still feel guilt over Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union and the atrocities Germans, and their allies, committed there.

Plus, there is the general fear of an expanded war on German soil.

Fear plays a role too. Perhaps because the memory of burnt-out cities is still alive in Germany, German media have played up the danger of Russia’s nuclear arsenal ever since the war began. Claudia Major, a defense analyst at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told me that her team had compiled a 100-page-long list of nuclear threats to Germany from Russian public officials and state propagandists, speaking either on Russian television or to the media. These scare tactics work. The calls for some kind of deal—for a forced settlement of the war—are just as loud in Germany, especially on the far right and the far left, as they are in similar pro-Russian political circles in America.

See: “Germany Is Arguing With Itself Over Ukraine” - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/10/germany-military-aid-ukraine-tanks-debate/671804/

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kindness1

3 hours ago

Why do I keep seeing Trump and his minions having done the same thing with Putin and his puppets? Putin helped Trump get elected in '16. Trump paid Putin back by trying to break NATO. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who gets into bed with Putin is my enemy.

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LarryL1970

3 hours ago

Marjorie Taylor Greene is a pro-Russia fascist. Yet she is the horse-faced darling of a good percentage of Republicans. There is no Republican Party... just brainwashed fascists spreading hate and racism.

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JAJ MN

3 hours ago

Putin’s long-term goal is to weaken the west and destroy the idea of democracy. His two most tangible victories in the past ten years were the passage of Brexit and the election of Trump, both of which Putin rightly takes credit for helping make happen. Putin is losing on every other front, and Biden has made him look like a fool, but the Russian troll armies continue to be a strong somewhat effective presence on social media and comment sites like this one.

You can see certain WaPo stories that the trolls target to spew nonsense and attack sane posters. His partnership with Fox has worked too, to add to the pool of useful idiots who reinforce the Russian trolls. So why would it surprise us that he’s using the same strategy to attack Germany?

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TheTschermanComments

3 hours ago

Read through the comments below and you can clearly identify the trolls were very interested in what WaPo reported.

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JAJ MN

2 hours ago

Sometimes it’s obvious when a bunch of “new subscribers “ show up pushing the Kremlin line. Sometimes it’s tricky to tell the Russian trolls from the useful idiots who get their talking points from Tucker Carlson. But you can usually tell when a WaPo story has triggered some form of troll response.

The scariest place is the fox site. The Russian trolls generally don’t need to seed any comments there, but all the Kremlin talking points get repeated over and over.

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diogenes4

2 hours ago

Let’s not forget Twitter and the Chief Twit.

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WyoCanyonGuy

11 hours ago

Pretty interesting article. What's striking to me is that, in many ways, this mirrors the situation here in the US. Our own far-left zealots and far-right zealots are aligned on the Russian invasion and they favor Putin. It's the "horseshoe" theory --- go far enough left and far enough right on some issues and the politics coalesce.

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A Concerned Neighbor

11 hours ago

Which 'far left' zealots in the US support Russia?

Don't say Gabbard. She's a Fox News contributor who warms fascist Tucker Carlson's chair when he's on vacay at his compound in Florida.

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Quintessential

11 hours ago

Gabbard did paint herself as a Dem for a long time. Smart people never bought it but a few did. The Russian influence campaign aimed at the left did a lot of damage in 2016. They didn't just gaslight the right. The convinced enough lefties or poseurs to stay home, vote for Stein, or even flip to Trump.

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TheIrishMoose

9 hours ago

This illustrates nicely that politics aren't a spectrum, they are a horseshoe. Go far enough to the extremes and you will see them converge again. Racism was rife in Eastern Germany.

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AlanNShapiro

9 hours ago

Bernie Sanders, Noam Chomsky, Scott Ritter, Chris Hedges... they don't directly say "I love Putin" ... but their focus is on whataboutism that US foreign policy and capitalism is the real culprit. Many WaPo commenters say the same misguided stuff all the time.

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Marvin The Martian

8 hours ago

(Edited)

"Whataboutism" is a new term to trivialize the "intellectual honesty" to apply the same standards to both sides of a situation. Like "nuclear blackmail", which is to trivialize the most serious threat that our species has faced in its 200,000 year existence, it is a way to ostensibly justify the complete failure to act to avert a non-recoverable tragedy on the most epic scale. And it actually works.

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Frankfurt2021

5 hours ago

@WyoCanyonGuy:

"Our own far-left zealots"

In the US, there is nothing like a real far-left, compared to Europe. In the US, what would be considered moderate in Europe is defamed as far-left.

Also, the right-wing movement in the US is by far stronger and more threatening than in Germany: nearly half of the population as opposed to 13-15 % in Germany.

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shawnbo

29 minutes ago

The June 3, 2016, email sent to Donald Trump Jr. could hardly have been more explicit: One of his father’s former Russian business partners had been contacted by a senior Russian government official and was offering to provide the Trump campaign with dirt on Hillary Clinton.The documents “would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father,” read the email, written by a trusted intermediary, who added, “This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” If the future president’s eldest son was surprised or disturbed by the provenance of the promised material — or the notion that it was part of a continuing effort by the Russian government to aid his father’s campaign — he gave no indication. He replied within minutes: “If it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer.” Four days later, after a flurry of emails, the intermediary wrote back, proposing a meeting in New York on Thursday with a “Russian government attorney.”

—NY Times

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CanadianInterloper

27 minutes ago

No surprise that DTJr would be a Useful Idiot ... hang on, "useful" would be something new for him.

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BruJonLev

45 minutes ago

We don't need to look to Germany to find Russian efforts to influence public opinion. There were pro-Russian rallies in Washington DC on Feb 20 and March, though the Post did not report on them.

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purple dragon

44 minutes ago

They're in every country, unfortunately.

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Kara Mustafa

1 hour ago

Russian oligarchs aren't wise enough to keep their fingers out of their own defense budget.

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Abe Lincoln

2 hours ago

"Divide and Conquer" is the Russian game plan, of course. They - and not only they - are past masters at it. Deviousness may be one of the few things Russians are actually good at.

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JAJ MN

1 hour ago

It’s chapter 2 of the Autocrat’s Handbook. Chapter 1 is to systematically attack the democratic institutions of government, media, science and academia. For further illustration, I give you the US GOP strategy since the 1980s.

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abrooklynite

2 hours ago

Horseshoe theory in action.

In 2016 they targeted Trump and Bernie supporters.

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KorlanKhan

2 hours ago

The Ruskies also got Jill Stein, Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn hook line and sinker.

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mimi28

1 hour ago

(Edited)

Yup. But even United, they are a tiny part of the vote when it comes to Ukraine. The majority of us are appalled that Putin thinks he has the right to commit genocide.

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DONT_LET_THEM_FOOL_YA

2 hours ago

The sizable Republican nut-wing is onboard, Russia… congrats.

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whengoodmendonothing

1 hour ago

Yup

Senate Report on Russian trolls

https://www.wired.com/story/russia-ira-propaganda-senate-report/

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Artur Seidel

2 hours ago

(Edited)

The Kremlin's efforts are futile. Even within her party Mrs. Wagenknecht represents only a minority. And this party is so small that it might fail to reenter into the Bundestag again in the next elections.

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Mustermann

2 hours ago

That party isn't even entirely pro Russia. It's split down the middle between more leftwing social democrats and conservative leftists who still think DDR socialism is the way to go. A fringe opinion among socialists.

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TheDrownedGod

2 hours ago

When 13,000 demonstrators gathered at the Brandenburg Gate on Feb. 25 to call for an end to weapons supplies to Ukraine, the protest was led by Sahra Wagenknecht, a member of parliament for Germany’s far-left Die Linke party and a firebrand with national ambitions.

So basically, a loudmouth, attention-seeking, spotlight-craving, rabble-rousing nobody in love with the sound of her own voice. Got it.

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rossputin3

3 hours ago

No need to waste time and money doing this in the US: Tucker, MTG and Trump have it covered

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Louis Ferguson

2 hours ago

And therefore it would be silly to use all of your tools to aid your witting and/or unwitting assets?

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rossputin3

2 hours ago

I see sarcasm evades you

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Paul M. Kleinman

3 hours ago

To suggest that the left wing in Germany are stooges for the Kremlin is more than absurd. This entire article is a hit -piece against any notion that in fact the US has deliberately turned the just struggle of the Ukranian people to remain independent into a proxy war to further US ambitions to rise back to the good old cold war days. Arms manufacturers are making billions off this war. If people choose to remember, 2 years ago before the Russians invaded the Ukraine, the US military command recognized that Russia had a national self interest in preventing themselves from being smack up against a circle of NAT O countries with US nuclear weapons only miles away from their border. Just as the US declaration that the Soviet Union putting in nuclear missiles in Cuba was intolerable, US military opinion was concerned that pulling Ukraine into NATO would be seen as a serious provocation against Russia.

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W0X0F_

3 hours ago

Lies, disinformation.

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JAJ MN

2 hours ago

Kremlin talking points, to be precise. Reinforced by their useful idiot team in the US.

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Mike JT

3 hours ago

US military opinion was concerned that pulling Ukraine into NATO would be seen as a serious provocation against Russia.

And yet here we are, with Russia once again proving exactly why we have a NATO. Finland at least got that message loud and clear. Any discomfort Putin might feel about being surrounded by enemies is entirely his own doing. You can’t break into your neighbor’s house and start assaulting his wife and kids and expect the rest of the neighborhood to not join the neighborhood watch.

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B Civil

2 hours ago

Ukraine conflict: Putin's war prompts dramatic German U-turn

[snip]

Pro-Moscow personalities, such as former SPD chancellor and Russian energy lobbyist Gerhard Schröder, are seen as toxic. Politicians who a week ago were still expressing understanding for President Putin's arguments over Ukraine, such as prominent left-winger Sahra Wagenknecht, now say they were wrong

BBC

27 February 2022

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HelsinkiSyndrome

2 hours ago

The US nuclear weapons are stored in five countries in Europe: Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey. If Ukraine did someday become a Nato member it is highly unlikely nukes would be placed there, for obvious reasons. Also all members of Nato must uninimously accept Ukraine, which also is highly unlikely in near future anyway.

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DownWithHatemaking

4 hours ago

This is Putin's strength. He has promoted right wing extremism throughout the democratic world with great success. Fortunately, he is a much better spy than general.

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TheTschermanComments

8 hours ago

Well, we have no Trump here who thinks that Putin is a smart person…!

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jdm58

10 hours ago

The Kremlin is not alone in its belief that it can control everything with money.

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Anna 63

11 hours ago

The far right and far left destroyed the Weimar Republic as well. Nothing new. Both detest liberal democracy. Both hate open societies. Putin supports all rightwing parties in Europe. He is a fascist.. But it's not only an European problem. The Republican party looks from a European standpoint like a fascist party. Tucker Carlson is openly in love with Putin. Maybe it's a lie. Maybe not.

Dictators promise always easy answers to difficult questions. They bath in hate and some people like it.

Billionaires use it to get more power. I suppose some would love the corruption state a la Moscow. The Supreme Court in the US is in the hands of these men. Frightening

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TheIrishMoose

9 hours ago

What destroyed the Weimar Republic a bit more complex than that and part of the problem were centrists and conservatives. The former because they were so obsessed with taking the high road that they stayed out of it and the latter because they went to bed with the Nazis because (and this documented) they genuinely thought they could CONTROL the fascists, treating them like useful idiots. This is why, at least up to now, the conservatives (and all other parties) in Germany categorically rule out forming coalitions with the right wing.

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Frankfurt2021

6 hours ago

(Edited)

You can't compare the situation of the weak Weimar Republic to the present German democracy that has been stable since WW II - quite unlike a few other European countries - - let alone the US of these days where the threat from a theocratic ultra-right is so much worse.

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Fordson61

39 minutes ago

This is nothing new. Don't treat it as a new revelation. Russia has had Germany hard wired since the 1950's. Most German and European "peace movements" during the Cold War, including those in France and the UK, were financed by the KGB, and Putin probably played a role. Actually the peace rhetoric has been relatively low key in Western Europe this time. During Viet Nam or the early eighties it was much worse.

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jeagerca

35 minutes ago

Watch the German series Deutschland 83 or Kleo.

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CavalryBear

39 minutes ago

(Edited)

I am all for cooperating with, communicating with Russians that want their family members to come home from Ukraine. Right away.

That impressionable German citizens might feel bad about what is happening? Want to find a peaceful solution by alternative means? Or simply feel sexy as a pseudo-spy furtively contacting a low level FSB or GRU hacker? Not a surprise. We just had a knucklehead ANG kid do the same thing. And far right and far left wackos have this in common - they all want total control of decision making at all levels. In my mind there is no difference between them in any measurable sense. Just what colors the flags and lies are.

Truth? There is only one person, one barrier to peace. Putin could decide this afternoon (it is about 1:00pm here in Pittsburgh) and have orders issued to stop firing. Make a call to the UN. Tell them the Kremlin will get their people moving back over the border (remember those? like a legally binding line in the sand?) immediately.

Be out of Ukraine in 3 days. Less.

I know what it looks like when you have 500,000 or 1 million cars on a road. My alma mater of Los Angeles, Southern California does it every day. People get up at sunrise, go do their thing, get home for dinner. If Moscow has trouble organizing a timely withdrawal? I'd recommend sending over some CalTrans traffic engineers - free of charge.

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rebco

54 minutes ago

Sure let Russia have control of East Germany again and Putin will come to town and set up his Stassi like the good old days if you see something call stassi 123 with names.

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khmdesign

1 hour ago

Every nation will ally itself with like minded factions of every other nation. Diplomatically, on the surface every country officially deals with the dominant faction of every other country. However, it is only natural for like minded factions to connect. This is a fact. Also a fact is that every country is engaged in attempting to understand what goes on beneath the surface and, just as on the surface through diplomacy, influence these relationships either for or against.

That Russia is attempting to influence Germany is a given; just as the US is openly, as well as behind closed doors, trying to influence Germany. These parallel paths, however fractured, will always be there for journalists to discover.

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1326Saint

1 hour ago

It’s business as usual and should be viewed as such. But the “Putin wants to take over Europe” crowd views it as a reason to pour as much gasoline on the fire as possible.

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Mybane

47 minutes ago

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

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Former_young_person

1 hour ago

And the GOP.

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16Denier

1 hour ago

Germany was left friendless and destitute by World War I. The UK and France would have been too — but they forced Germany to pay heavy “war reparations” which the Allies then used to pay off their monstrous American bank loans. The money fueled the 1920s boom in the US. There was some talk of cancelling the Allied War Debt, but the bankers would have none of it. They heavily lobbied Congress to forget the whole thing. Then Hitler came along, and told the Germans he’d avenge the “unfair peace” of World War I. And he didn’t have to worry about offending any “friends.”

Russia was left friendless and destitute by Communism. The West made some “motions” of aid when it collapsed. Mindful of its history, Germany probably helped the most per capita. But the West soon lost interest; no more money was available for foreign policy. The Russians were used to being isolated. It’s what both the czars and the dictators told the people to justify their expansion. So, in the face of destitution, lawlessness and isolation, they got Putin. He restored things — then slowly returned to building empires.

The man who shaped US Cold War policy the most was American diplomat George F. Kennan. In the 1990s, he was old but still very active. Before a Senate committee, he solemnly warned against isolating Russia. He considered it “extremely dangerous.” Being extremely wise, the distinguished senators heeded his advice carefully…Right?

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JAJ MN

1 hour ago

Excellent insights. I did some consulting work in Russia 10-15 years ago. My perspective is skewed from being in big cities only, but generally the Russians I met very much wanted to reject the past and be part of the west. Maybe Putin’s eventual downfall will give us another chance to get that right.

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nytdhb

1 hour ago

Russia has nukes, and so is a completely different animal than Germany ever was.

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1326Saint

1 hour ago

Kennan was extremely wise and explicitly warned against the expansion of NATO eastward. Someone in the Clinton administration should have listened to the architect of the most successful US foreign policy initiative of the post WW II era. He also knew the Iraq war was a fiasco in the making and was explicit in being opposed to it at the end of his long life.

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khmdesign

58 minutes ago

Warnings given during Soviet times bear little resemblance to warnings needed or not during post Soviet times. Putin does not represent Russia of the Soviet times. That Russia was rabidly patriotic due to what they suffered during WW2. That Russia was also out for a better lifestyle. It took the opening up of the Soviet Union and more importantly its vassal states to bring down a doomed authoritarian system. The desire for a better way of life did not mesh with the Soviet system. Given the economic doldrums of the Soviet Union and the advent of Russia the world's gas station, life got better. Life got better due to the West's economic models being copied in Russia. A desire for a better life brought down the Soviet Union. A desire for a better life will bring down Putin; if he doesn't blow us all up first.

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1326Saint

52 minutes ago

Kennan’s warning was given in the post Soviet era in the 90s. That being said, much of your comment describes the rationale for Kennan’s successful containment policy.

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jeagerca

55 minutes ago

There was another factor at work in Russia post-1991.

A friend of mine spent some time travelling in the East Bloc in 1980s.

His observation was that the only thing keeping the Soviet system afloat was the black market: systematic, organized graft, theft and corruption.

Individuals had no choice but to rely on it just to survive.

Because of this he firmly believed that if Russia ever managed to rid itself Communism (which was anything but socialism) it would turn into a kleptokratic failed state where the ruthless and the quick would rule.

History has proven my friend prescient.

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zwiefldraader

1 hour ago

Thanks for taking up this important topic.

It's true, Russia and their autocratic allies are about furthering coalitions between far right and far left forces all over Europe, probably the US as well.

Their COVID disinformation was a major step achieving this.

Nevertheless there are some things to be put into perspective.

It may or may not be true that about a quarter of Germans could be sympathetic to a chancellor Wagenknecht.

Which means: three quarters aren't.

During their first years I (being german) supported Die Linke.

It soon became clear it's NOT a leftist party, it's a nationalist party in big parts, with some leftist talking points.

Wagenknecht is the poster girl for this.

Die Linke lost their base, as soon as the AfD stepped into gears East Germany.

They have a largely identical base.

There is nowhere any perspective for majority or decisive political traction.

If anything, it proves the stability of the German political system.

The quarter sympathetics are far from the power the radicals have gotten by taking over the GOP in the US.

In Germany you need coalitions across parties to win government.

The four traditional parties of SPD, CDU, FDP and the Green Party denied them cooperation and will do so in future.

Simply because they got sensible alternatives to build working coalitions.

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B Civil

40 minutes ago

Thank you.

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Dr Dan Jordan

2 hours ago

This helps explain the bizarre convergence of some progressives with the MAGA right. Let's see the files on Russian manipulation of US political opponents.

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Alan on Guitar

2 hours ago

(Edited)

Please help me understand with an example of this convergence.

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JAJ MN

2 hours ago

Right wing anti-science, anti-government forces tapped into crazy left wing anti-vax conspiracy theories to further the right wing goal of damaging the institutions of democracy.

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archeopteryx

2 hours ago

I don't remember any "left wing" anti-vax stuff. The ones I knew were just plain old nuts.

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Alan on Guitar

2 hours ago

People on the extreme fringe have common characteristics which makes them look similar, but I wouldn't count on convergence any time soon.

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Louis Ferguson

2 hours ago

I for one am antiwar, more importantly I am anti allowing war criminals to get away with crimes against humanity, looking at you Putin, Shrub and Cheney ✌️

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210Richard

2 hours ago

(Edited)

” She said that any suggestion that she may have received communications from Russian officials or their representatives proposing an alliance with the AfD was “absurd,” adding that she had “not been in contact with anyone from the Russian state or any of its representatives.”

Yeah, she just loves Putin and loathes Ukraine because they have been fighting Putin since the Russians failed to take Kyiv and now won't let Putin take a fifth of the Ukrainian homeland.

She reminds me of Trump when he refused to believe Putin interfered in our election

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Rascally Rabbit

2 hours ago

. . . she had “not been in contact with anyone from the Russian state or any of its representatives.”

As if it's that obvious.

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Alex of San Diego

2 hours ago

I doubt very much Trump refused to believe Putin interfered. It was that Trump refused to admit it.

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Bruce G R

2 hours ago

Remember when Trump’s family asked the Russian ambassador if they could use embassy encrypted communications to communicate directly with Russia?

That even freaked out the Russians.

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210Richard

2 hours ago

(Edited)

Definitely!

In Helsinki, Finland, Trunp said,

I asked Putin three times if he interfered in our election, and he said NO all three times.

Frankly, I don't see why it would be Putin.

As if one can be believed and absolved if you answer 'no' three times in a row.

What a joke!

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Big Bill Haywood

2 hours ago

(Edited)

This is soooo reminiscent of how the US government and their FBI tried to smear Vietnam anti-war activists as "agents of the Communists"?

So I guess Is Medea Benjamin, Michael Parenti, Chris Hedges, and even Noam Chomsky may be subject to arrest as agents of "The Russians" soon?

Does the Kremlin agree with and provide support and internet amplification of western anti-war viewpoints for their own purposes? Of course they do. But does not make an anti-war movement a creation of "The Russians" any more than I was a creation of Saddam Hussein 20 years ago.

Shades of the Palmer Raids...

I may strongly disagree with the brain stuck in the past, "anti-US-imperialist" narrative the antiwar left adopted regarding Ukraine (and before that, Syria - which is the point that I left the movement). But I defend their right to speak out.

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W0X0F_

2 hours ago

Putin propagandist brings up Vietnam. Shocking!

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B Civil

2 hours ago

This is soooo reminiscent of how the US government and their FBI tried to smear Vietnam anti-war activists as "agents of the Communists"?

Big Bill Haywood

Here’s the lede on this piece:

Kremlin tries to build antiwar coalition in Germany, documents show

Marrying Germany’s far right and far left is a Kremlin goal, according to a trove of Russian documents reviewed by The Washington Post

Germany’s domestic intelligence put part of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party under systematic surveillance, judging it a threat to the democratic order…in 2020, according to BBC.

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Luke0321

3 hours ago

The Post also obtained a number of previously unreported documents from a trove of images of classified files posted on a private server on the chat app Discord.

So, the Washington Post obtained as many of the leaked documents as it could and then disseminated the top secret information beyond just the Discord community and to the general public. Does anyone think that may not be a good thing?

On one hand, the Washington Post is writing about how detrimental to US security the leaks were, and on the other hand it's doing everything it can to widely spread the top secret information.

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Accommodius

3 hours ago

Anything about the hot line to Rupert Murdoch and Tucker Carlson?

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Together

4 hours ago

Hard to lead or build an anti war coalition when yours is the country that invaded a sovereign nation without provocation. Putin is the author of the slaughter. Remove Putin and better times shall follow.

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ophelia3

4 hours ago

Not unprovoked, not a sovereign nation.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Sec Gen:

The war didn't start in February last year, it started in 2014. And since 2014, we have implemented the biggest reinforcement of our collective defense, with more troops, higher readiness, presence in eastern part of the Alliance, new defense plans, and also increased defence spending.

The obscene amounts of taxpayer money we have spent and massive amounts of arms we have sent since 2014 seem intended to provoke something. But doubtful the intent was peace.

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Hydromatick

4 hours ago

Ukraine is not a sovereign nation? I suppose it belongs back in the tender arms of Mother Russia?

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cz_man

3 hours ago

Same with Poland

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W0X0F_

4 hours ago

Disinformation.

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Mizunoboy

3 hours ago

The intent has always been to assist the Ukrainian people in their endeavour to kick the Russian troops out of their country, which is not an unreasonable position for them to take.

Back to St Petersburg with you.

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Lance Linklot

6 hours ago

Ruck Fussia

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Talisman12

7 hours ago

Putin is the scourge of humanity. He is the metastasizing cancer.

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A Concerned Neighbor

11 hours ago

(Edited)

So... Germany has a Tulsi Gabbard too?

Shame.

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G2Martin

9 hours ago

(Edited)

Tulsi Gabbard isn't far left.

This is more like a Bernie Saunders.

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Progressive in Ohio

9 hours ago

Bernie Sandwrs is only far left in America.

In the rest of Europe, he’s considered moderate, as they already have a lot of the programs he’s proposing.

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Mister Big

6 minutes ago

"Moscow has long cultivated dozens of AfD members, especially through lavish, all-expenses-paid trips to Russia, documents and interviews show."

I'm reminded of the GOP senators who suddenly went to Russia on Fourth of July, 2018... Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.), Steve Daines (Mont.), John Thune (S.D.), John Kennedy (La.), Jerry Moran (Kan.) and John Hoeven (N.D.), and Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas),.

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RighteousTruth

21 minutes ago

Well Putin has been successful in the United States in forging an anti-Ukraine group on the far right as shown by the anti-Ukraine pronouncements of Jordan, DeSantis and Greene, among other MAGAs. They have had less luck with Leftish peaceniks however. Perhaps because the far right supporters are considered not just conservatives but fascist Christian white nationalist. The far left doesn't want to be associate with fascist mentality.

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Mister Big

3 minutes ago

Exactly. It's easy to identify those who are compromised in the congress because they consistently refuse to criticize Putin/Russia, and twist logic into pretzels to argue why we shouldn't support Ukraine.

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gregmuon

22 minutes ago

We do on occasion get an obvious Boris commenting something like "PEACE NOW!" right here in WAPO comments.

There seems to be less of them lately. Maybe they all got sent to the front.

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AlwaysAnon

37 minutes ago

Sowing, fomenting, and exacerbating political instability in any nation the Kremlin considers an adversary is the Kremlin's Goal.

Hence the Kremlin putting it's thumb on the republican side of American elections whenever possible.

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Henny Beck

30 minutes ago

No Republicans have run to Nazism openly since Donald Trump was president. So are Republicans are the party of Russia. Let's vote these nasty people out.

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Farm Family

40 minutes ago

The Russian people need to rise up and overthrow the brutal Putin dictatorship.

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gregmuon

42 minutes ago

Putin is doing even better in the US, with MTG, Tucker and of course DJT in his corner and doing his bidding.

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SacDudeToday

50 minutes ago

Move over MAGAs, the Germans are taking the lead on the useful idiots arms race.

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Chris Slick

55 minutes ago

If you’re going to refer to it by its German name, it’s Alternativ für Deutschland, not Alternative für Deutschland.

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ElCeejX

1 hour ago

Wagenknecht said in a statement to The Post that there would not be “any cooperation or alliance” between her “and elements of the AfD in any form.”

But...

[s]oon after the Kremlin gave the order for a union to be forged between Wagenknecht and the far right, AfD deputies began speaking in support of her in parliament and party members chanted her name at rallies. Björn Höcke, chairman of the AfD in Thüringen in eastern Germany, publicly invited her to join the party.

Maybe she shouldn't be making her statement to the Post. Maybe she should making it to the AfD.

Looks extra-Trumpy to me.

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erbkon

1 hour ago

(Edited)

I have deep roots in Germany and visit regularly. This kind of Russian interference infuriates me.

But the WaPo writers do the truth no service with their trite characterization of Wagenknecht as having a "populist stance against unauthorized immigration".

Being against unauthorized migration into one's country is not 'populist', it is mere normal human sanity. And if its opposite is to be in favor of unrestrained and unsupervised entry of one and all, well, that's how to lose elections.

My relatives in Germany are loving and easy-going folk, but some have told me they really resent paying taxes for benefits for illegal migrants (whose cases can take years to adjudicate), which the Federal Constitutional Court in a moment of extravagant virtue-signaling with other people's money ruled must be equivalent to those of German citizens in good standing who have paid in for years.

Politicians who ignore the plain sense of fairness of ordinary people can end up handing their countries to demagogues if they don't take care.

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nytdhb

1 hour ago

(Edited)

Migration has been happening for 50,000 years.

Tolstoy wrote two epilogues to “War And Peace” in reference to human migration.

Worth reading.

Some people immigrate, or emigrate, and others invade and conquer.

Europe has had it’s terrible history for over 500 years.

Can’t think it can escape what they did to Crimea. Charge of the light brigade.

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erbkon

51 minutes ago

One of out five Americans is either an immigrant or a child of an immigrant. I am both. I am familiar with with the moral implications of migration. Nation-states have the right to control who comes within their borders. Their first duty is to the safety, peace, and prosperity of their citizens. At least in part, that involves actually listening to them.

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Mr President

53 minutes ago

(Edited)

Politicians who ignore the plain sense of fairness of ordinary people...

Like the ordinary people who are drowning by the hundreds to get to a better life in Europe? Those ordinary people? Or other ordinary people so lucky that, not only do they not have to deal with those issues, they don't want to deal with OTHERS who have to deal with those issues?

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erbkon

47 minutes ago

I take a back seat to no-one regarding the rescue of the drowning, but it is not Europe's job to provide citizens of other countries a better life within its borders. That's what economic growth, foreign aid, and the IMF are for. For every "ordinary" citizen in North America or Europe or Japan or Korea -- any wealthy country -- there is someone in a poorer part of the world. Saying that person has a moral claim on that basis to enter a country unlawfully and take a seat at the table uninvited is electoral suicide.

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Necromicron

52 minutes ago

Has their lifestyle been affected by immigration, such as higher taxes, or fewer services, or is it more a reflection.of seeing more immigrants on the news or on the streets?

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erbkon

46 minutes ago

Neither, and I might add that they shouldn't need such a 'trigger' to be allowed have an opinion on the topic. My reading of it was that it's a simple fairness issue.

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Necromicron

42 minutes ago

The whole thing of "fairness" is the problem with the right wing. They can't stand it that someone else gets help, even if they don't need it themselves.

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B Civil

44 minutes ago

Politicians who ignore the plain sense of fairness of ordinary people can end up handing their countries to demagogues if they don't take care.

That sounds a bit like ‘Nice country you’ve got there. It’d be a shame is something happened to it.’

Imho.

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myop the gadfly

2 hours ago

certainly sounds like maga and the progressives here. the extremists always find places to overlap, as has been noted by history.

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B Civil

1 hour ago

and the progressives here

Substantiate and name them, please.

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myop the gadfly

1 hour ago

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/10/26/progressives-thought-crime-on-ukraine-00063621

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B Civil

55 minutes ago

A Politico Opinion piece from 10/26/22 is not substantiation, imho.

An excerpt from the CPC (Congressional Progressive Caucus) press release, February 24, 2023

One year ago today, President Putin initiated an illegal invasion and brutal, unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. In the twelve months since, thousands of people have been killed, with millions more displaced and forced to seek refuge outside their home country. Russia has committed blatant war crimes, exacerbated a global hunger crisis, and has even undermined the critical New START treaty. We join our colleagues in Congress and people across the world in solemn mourning of the harm and loss of life this war has inflicted.

“At the same time, we are proud of the role the United States has played in responding to the conflict. President Biden has shown exceptional leadership, including in bringing and keeping the international coalition together to provide economic, military, humanitarian, and moral support for Ukraine, while wisely seeking to avoid direct conflict. The aid Congress has allocated has been crucial in helping the Ukrainian people defend themselves and keep their government functioning.

[emphasis mine]

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upenngrdst

1 hour ago

While anecdotal, one of my brothers is a a progressive; lately, he keeps calling Biden a "war hawk" and doesn't support our sending weapons to Ukraine He's become just as bad as my MAGA brother who claims COVID is both a bioweapon from China and a hoax. I'm not sure why my progressive brother sounds just like my MAGA brother, but clearly they're both getting some misinformation from their respective online "sources."

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JAJ MN

1 hour ago

The Congressional Progressive Caucus released a letter last November calling for Biden to enter into negotiations with Putin to end the war. They backed off pretty quickly, but the sentiment was there.

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B Civil

50 minutes ago

Please see:

One year ago today, President Putin initiated an illegal invasion and brutal, unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. In the twelve months since, thousands of people have been killed, with millions more displaced and forced to seek refuge outside their home country. Russia has committed blatant war crimes, exacerbated a global hunger crisis, and has even undermined the critical New START treaty. We join our colleagues in Congress and people across the world in solemn mourning of the harm and loss of life this war has inflicted.

“At the same time, we are proud of the role the United States has played in responding to the conflict. President Biden has shown exceptional leadership, including in bringing and keeping the international coalition together to provide economic, military, humanitarian, and moral support for Ukraine, while wisely seeking to avoid direct conflict. The aid Congress has allocated has been crucial in helping the Ukrainian people defend themselves and keep their government functioning.

Congressional Progressive Caucus

February 24, 2023

The letter you refer to was released (mysteriously) months after most has signed it, and was retracted.

I did not interpret it the way you did.

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bupdaddy

2 hours ago

I would be surprised if Russia hadn't been trying to influence politics in Germany.

Of course they are. I'm sure the USA tries to influence politics in countries that are typically allied with Russia, too.

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Jack MacCoy

2 hours ago

(Edited)

Bup,

Yes, but NATO (including the US) and the EU are genuinely the good guys in this fight, and Putin and Xi are the bad guys.

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archeopteryx

2 hours ago

XI isn't doing much of anything. He's mostly just talk.

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Jack MacCoy

2 hours ago

Arch,

And we hope to keep it that way, but his activities around (literally) Taiwan are not helpful.

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whengoodmendonothing

1 hour ago

Republicans are very active in Canada too.

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81Lewis

2 hours ago

Russia is making all the wrong moves. The entire world is against them. Even China is reluctant to offer any help. They are getting more desperate by the day.

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YoungKitC

2 hours ago

(Edited)

13,000 protestors: Ich bin ein Patsies.

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rdoran

2 hours ago

Nice! I sorta line the sound of nützlicher Idiot too.

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gransview

52 minutes ago

Sehr Gut!

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alsonny

2 hours ago

Wouldn't be surprised if Russians did the same that caused Republicans to find another reason to oppose Biden and Democrats in our involvement in defending Ukraine.

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B Civil

2 hours ago

The House “Freedom” and “America First” Caucuses do so willingly and gleefully.

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Rascally Rabbit

2 hours ago

I guess they don't need any help.

Although, one never knows where all those right wing conspiracy theories and websites really originate.

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B Civil

2 hours ago

Exclusive: Russian operation masqueraded as right-wing news site to target U.S. voters - sources

Jack Stubbs

Reuters

October 1, 2020

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Lamont_Cranston

3 hours ago

I wonder if the Kremlin is working hard on its own ‘anti war’ coalition.

Wouldn’t it be easier to start at home?

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WillyJoe

3 hours ago

What Putin really wants is a "No fair fighting back against Putin" coalition. He's already got that at home.

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Muriel_NL

3 hours ago

Russia and peace movement have no business being in one sentence.

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Mark Canada

3 hours ago

The bottom line for these German collaborators with Russia is that they should re-study the history of what life was like in Eastern Germany and East Berlin under the regime of Walter Ulbricht, with the USSR pulling the strings.

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Nazmorgul

3 hours ago

(Edited)

Have the Europeans not learned? You cannot appease Russia - it has never happened in the history of Europe. Not ever. The only way Russia knows to extend its influence is via conquest and annexation. Russia wants peace until it is ready to wage war. Every country in Eastern Europe has been invaded by Russia at least once, also many of its neighbors in Asia. Finland, Romania, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, China, Mongolia, Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria. They have either tried to turn the neighbors communist or conquer (annex) them. There is other way with Russia, at lease this generation of the old communist soviet guard, except deterrence by the threat of war.

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Frankfurt2021

1 hour ago

Have the Europeans not learned?

Fortunately, it's not THE Europeans. There is no such thing like THE Europeans, Europe is highly diverse in many respects.

A far as Germany is concerned, the attitudes described in the article are supported by just a minority of approx. 20% of Germans, which certainly is more than I would wish. And in most Europeans countries it is more or less similar.

Everything else you wrote is right but please don't let yourself be misled by simplifying claims or judgements.

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sasangasana

4 hours ago

(Edited)

It’s sick how they exploit the peace movement in Germany. Look what Putin does to his own peace protesters. He’s such a user, abuser, manipulator. The Germans do have a veritable pacifist movement. Some of this was present from historical religious developments and some of it sure was cultivated —and well desired by the rest of us— after WWII. Here is hoping that some of this chaos and confusion will be cleared up with continued press, more helpful information to the German people. Thank you for writing about how peace activists get used by Putin. Pleas continue to report what he does to Russia’s own peace activists.

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TheMelancholyDonkey

3 hours ago

Of course, a significant portion of the German pacifist movement is embodied in the Green Party, and they have found the limits of their pacifism and support Ukraine.

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sasangasana

2 hours ago

I agree.

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Frankfurt2021

1 hour ago

If you are generally defaming peace movements as "chaos and confusion" I cannot agree. No reasonable and mentally sane person would disagree that, in general, peace is better than war.

But certainly, aggression needs to be responded to, which means the Ukrainian defence needs to be supported by the free Western world. Democracy and freedom is endangered worldwide and must be defended, including support by the US as the leading power of the Western world.

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sasangasana

1 hour ago

(Edited)

Weird. I’m concerned about protecting the peace movements. I’m concerned about not having them tainted with Russian manipulation.

Like how you misread what I wrote, that’s exactly what concerns me the most.

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Frankfurt2021

40 minutes ago

I'm sorry if I misread your comment. Maybe it wasn't as unambiguous as you thought.

E. g. you were talking of "more helpful information to the German people" - THE German people! - which reads as if you implied ALL of the Germans need more of such helpful information. Be assured: The German press and TV are a lot less dominated by immensely powerful demogogic mass media like 'Fox News' and others of the like.

Also, just parts of the peace activists "get used by Putin".

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Winston III

4 hours ago

Kremlin's online social warfare is now joined (and probably coordinated) with China's online psychological operations.

Why aren't Western leaders doing more to stop them? The largest social media gathering places are flooded with Russian propaganda, and it's very hard for young people to tell the difference.

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midwesterneratheart

5 hours ago

Germany remembers so good luck with that plan🤣

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HPLong

6 hours ago

The Republican party in the US is the biggest threat to democracy in the US and the world because of domestic book banning, racism, and censorship practiced by DeSantis and the State of Tennessee, encouragement of White Christian violence by Trump and his minion J.D. Vance, and pro-Putin propaganda by Republican Presidential candidates like Trump and DeSantis. By comparison, the threat of racist, fascist, and communist parties to democracy in Germany are less significant. In both countries, short sighted appeals to abandoning victims of Russian terrorism mirror the pro-Nazi America First movement before World War II. The difference today is that a huge portion of the Republican party are enthusiastic traitors so long as they get a Christo-fascist government.

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EB Farnum

6 hours ago

Lighten up, Francis.

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Frankfurt2021

5 hours ago

@HPLong: Very true.

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Jack Mistal

6 hours ago

This story creates wild and weird associations that have little meaning in German politics. Niemeyer has for years been known as a peddler of bizarre theories and activism - and he also happens to be the ex husband of Wagenknecht, whose politics are very different. You might as well use Robert F. Kennedy Jr's antivaxx activism as a sign of what the Kennedy family or the east coast liberal establishment more widely is up to. I'm sure he still keeps in touch with some family members.

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Bo Geerters Schmidt

8 hours ago

(Edited)

Not a big surprise. after the wall . many east Germans . Felt betrayed. the new paradise, was not as supportive as the old many old industry was closed.

Remember the terror group RAF was sponsored by FSB, like the European peace movement in the 60-80. The good Social democrat Gerhard Schroeder sold his soul to Putin for cheap energy and contractS for german industry. all this finance Putins attack on the west and army build up. All this like in other EU countries, has created a long queue in front of the hand wash. Like in Russia, some her still believe in Stalin's claims that the nazi party was a direct outcome capitalism. No one has forced Putin into this except his own megalomania. Many tyrants, has used same excuse for starting a war one a Austrian born painter. Who lived in the country we talk about. Where some apparently still have a dream of strongmen ideology. The good thing with democracy is it has room for all views which non of the strongmen don't want.

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Duckman2007

9 hours ago

Is this what led to the months-long delay in German authorization of the transfer of German tanks by NATO allies to Ukraine?

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TheIrishMoose

9 hours ago

In short: No.

The socialist "Die Linke" (and in this case this is not hyperbole) and the, partially, neo-Nazi "AfD" are not in government and won't be, on a national level, in any foreseeable future. The perceived dithering in Germany has three main reasons:

- Successive governments ignored the descent of Russia towards a dictatorship in the name of cheap oil and gas and maintained close ties to Russia for the sake of cheap energy

- Germany, because of our history in WW2, is quite reluctant to get involved in armed conflicts in any way

- The German armed forces as they are have been mis-managed and are in pretty terrible shape. This is not, as some would believe, a function of a lack of funding. While funding could and should be better in percentages of GDP, the German GDP is also multiples greater than, say, Poland. It's no use to simply say "let's spend an extra 100 billion" if said money is spent on marquee projects, consulting firms and utter nonsense or on starting projects and then scrapping them half-way through

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G2Martin

9 hours ago

Germany needs to get with the program. Russia is a real threat to European security, and the West should not let Ukraine fall as NATO dithers over the tanks they need. Poland gets it, even if Germany doesn't.

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Steffen Reinke

7 hours ago

Let's be real. Look at their army -- Russia is a threat to European security on a political and digital level, but certainly not militarily.

Ukraine deserves help because it's the right thing to do, not because Europe as a whole is somehow at risk of getting overrun by an army that barely manages to keep its foot in the door of a single impoverished neighbor.

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Mememe1234

6 hours ago

Okay. Seems like you're a bit brain washed.

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PDppppppp

8 hours ago

The thought that these two extreme political parties will never take power seems more hopeful than factual.

Far right parties have been quite successful in Italy , (almost in France ) and definitely in the USA.

On the flip side, the far left and the far right have always been in Germany and spewed the same silliness even back in the 1960s. I remember being told “things are not so bad over the other side of the Berlin Wall by a German professor in 1977.

The rest of your assessment is pretty spot on

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Frankfurt2021

6 hours ago

"The thought that these two extreme political parties will never take power seems more hopeful than factual."

No. There's no indication at all that a majority of Germans will vote for extremists in the foreseeable future. Unlike quite some other European countries, there is an overwhelming & stable "boring" majority of moderates, and has alwaays been since WW II.

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Steffen Reinke

7 hours ago

In addition to TheIrishMoose's explanation, there is also the difference between Germany donating its own tanks, and NATO allies being granted a license to re-export German weapons. NATO allies did not submit request for the latter until after Germany announced they would send their own MBTs, so that part is not solely up to Berlin.

Let us recall that NATO as an organization maintained for a year the line that western tanks and IFVs were a red line; this internal understanding then just changed over the course of a month in response to increased Russian aggression.

It is possible that Germany was lobbying within NATO to maintain the "no tanks" line, but doubtful that it would have managed to do so alone -- plus, any of the other countries would have had the option of putting pressure on Germany by publicly submitting an export request, but did not. Even Poland, whose PiS government loves taking potshots at Berlin, merely shouted they would send the Leopards with or without German approval -- yet still didn't ask for it.

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DidierR

13 minutes ago

Putin has perfected the art of killing his own people.

It may be one reason Trump idolizes him.

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Oldest of seven

14 minutes ago

It is not unlikely that there still remain a contingent with the views of the Nazis still available for a new exploitation. They are everywhere delivering their brand of misinformation. Do not mistake it. Follow the money.

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JJNCJJ1

15 minutes ago

Interesting that far right leader Marjorie Taylor Greene talked about the recent leaker being anti-war. It looks like she is using the Kremlin’s technique right here in the USA.

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Bill Cat

8 minutes ago

Can't be anti-war and support Russia. That's like being pro life and supporting the death penalty.

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Moonshot_07161969

27 minutes ago

Die Linke aka SED (Sozialistische Einheits Partei aka Communist party of the old East Germany)

AfD = Anti-NATO and Pro-Putin party

All you need to know!

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RationalGirl

20 minutes ago

genau

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VJpS34

1 hour ago

OT

BREAKING: Texts reveal trump allies wanted to use STOLEN voter data to overturn the 2020 election. This involves Rudy, Sidney Powell, Cyber Ninjas, Coffee County election officials, and the trump White House.

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Jose von Washington

1 hour ago

Drop your unrelated partisan propaganda.

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jeagerca

1 hour ago

Definitely OT.

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Kevin Brew

2 hours ago

(Edited)

As the Russians have used social media to cobble together the same kind of coalition here with some success in both parties though the AOC Squad types have been effectively shut down on this by Democratic leadership while GOP leadership, especially in the House, is hostage to the pro Putin right.

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B Civil

2 hours ago

(Edited)

“the same kind of coalition here with some success in both parties though the AOC Squad types” Kevin Brew

Rep Ocasio-Cortez on Ukraine:

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is indefensible. The U.S. is right to impose targeted sanctions on Putin & his oligarchs. We also must work with our allies to prepare for a refugee crisis on a massive scale

February 23, 2022

Your post is MDM.

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Stan Continople

2 hours ago

Germany was a good choice. They have a (short) history of anti war sentiment since WWII and they are a lynchpin of NATO and the EU.

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anotherfacet

3 hours ago

Kremlin tries to build antiwar coalition in Germany

I think and hope they are doing a better job of building an antiwar coalition in Russia.

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Big Bill Haywood

2 hours ago

Yup. The antiwar left need to build support for anti-war Russians rather than their turning the Fascist Putin's invasion into a "noble struggle against Yankee capitalist imperialism."

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Davidnav

3 hours ago

Perhaps the Discord Leaks will add a great degree of credibility to the public at large (including all political affiliations) given the leaks were not intended to be publicized to the whole world (rather than a small group of gamers of approximately 20) which makes the motivational factors less likely to be viewed as politically biased. Also, with the vast network as described in this specific article, which the Kremlin is using to infiltrate Germany it certainly is not a stretch that this type of activity and behavior would not only be likely in the United States but could almost be concluded as a certainty given this week's earlier announcement on the arrests of 4 Russian operatives in Florida with similar motivations. This also bolsters the Mueller Report with regard to Russian infiltration and specific tactics.

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anotherfacet

2 hours ago

You probably have not looked into the leaker's political bias.

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medianone

3 hours ago

Kremlin tries to build antiwar coalition in Germany, documents show

Kremlin is also trying to build antiwar coalition in the United States.

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puppyHenry

3 hours ago

"...German tanks, soon to be delivered to Ukraine, could once again be used to shoot at “Russian women and men.” If those Russian women and men are invading they should be shot at.

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mandog

3 hours ago

The Russians built the German Green Party as an anti-nuke/anti-Western coalition in the 1960s and 70s. It worked so well they now have politicians dismantling Germany's energy infrastructure and making it more dependent on Russia. So, why not just tweak the old formula?

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Frankfurt2021

2 hours ago

The Russians built the German Green Party

This is as ridiculous as anything you can think of. The Green Party evolved from a grassroot environment & anti-nuke movement for good reasons and has never been anti-Western in general neither been "built" by the Russians. Your claim is just cheap propaganda of the worst kind - no better than what the Russians are doing.

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Petersburgh

3 hours ago

The Red-Brown alliance is a time honored German tradition, and especially well known to the Russians who also exploited it in the 1930s.

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Frankfurt2021

2 hours ago

It's certainly very intelligent and convincing to compare today's Germany with what it was in the 1930s.

Perhaps you might want to arrive in the present, mentally, rather than stick to outdated prejudices?

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Petersburgh

54 minutes ago

The parallel is not about Germany in general, which would obviously be absurd. It's about this specific manifestation of a left-right alliance of convenience, and its being actively manipulated specifically by Russia, which happens to have rather exact predecessor in an earlier period of history.

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cz_man

3 hours ago

Not a surprise: Who do you think got Germany to shut down all of their nukes in exchange for "clean, cheap Russian gas"?

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Mustermann

2 hours ago

Except that gas consumption in the electric sector didn't go up, coal went down, and that the nuclear power industry is also often extremely reliant on Russia...

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Frankfurt2021

2 hours ago

Oh man ... you really should get yourself educated rather than spread ridiculous & baseless prejudices.

- The shutdown of nuclear power plants was rationally decided on after Fukushima which again proved it's a technology with immense risks.

- You might have realized that Germany stopped ALL of its import of Russian gas. So what are you talking about?

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Wanderer12

4 hours ago

It appears some Germans do not want to get caught up in a nuclear war.

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W0X0F_

4 hours ago

^^ "Kremlin tries to build antiwar coalition in Germany"

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So Blue

3 hours ago

Then Putin needs to remove his troops from Urkaine.

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GrayStripe

4 hours ago

This is not conservative. It is a plan for coercive right-wing government, similar to that practiced by various dictators.

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Mizunoboy

3 hours ago

De Santis will be watching on with keen interest and note book to hand.

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Frankfurt2021

1 hour ago

Yes, but be assured: There's no way the German radical left or right would attract a majority of voters nationwide in the foreseeable future. Wagenknecht is just good at talk shows.

From a European point of view, the immensely powerful right-wing movement of the Republican & theocratic radicals in the US is a lot more of a threat to democracy, even worldwide, in the end.

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John1263

4 hours ago

Putin imagines himself as a “great Soviet leader” when he is in fact an international pariah and punchline.

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cmckeonjr

5 hours ago

I just think of Russia as evil. What they have done to Ukraine is unforgivable. That the Russian people support it makes them revulsive..

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Marvin The Martian

8 hours ago

Summarized, "Peace is a Russian conspiracy. Anyone running for office on a platform of ending war is a Russian agent. Anyone advocating for peace in public forums is a Russian troll."

Ironically, both sides are working for peace. One side for peace with a still thriving human population and the other side for the peace of the grave for all mankind.

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TheTschermanComments

7 hours ago

Historically Russian wars and conspiracies lead to nothing else but graveyard silence brought to its opponents.

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ascio

10 hours ago

Nostalgia for East Germany is spreading beyond Ms Merkel

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G2Martin

9 hours ago

I guess they miss low productivity and Soviet goods.

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Steffen Reinke

7 hours ago

Speaking as someone who grew up in and then emigrated from Eastern Germany, people miss having stable jobs and a low cost of living.

Russia is exploiting simmering negative sentiments that have persisted for three decades during which the unified government still did not manage to overcome the massive income gap between former West and East Germany, which is still fueling a demographic exodus where young people are moving to where they can earn more, and everyone who stays feels like a sucker as shops shutter and infrastructure is cut.

Dissatisfied populace has always been the most juicy targets for political manipulation, and sadly too many people do not recognize how they are being played. This part is true regardless in which country you look.

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Musa Inmortui Remedium

10 hours ago

The Iron Curtain seems nostalgic.

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michele surdi

10 hours ago

it is now obvious that the socalled antiwar movement was in fact a creation of the north vietnamese communist party

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PDppppppp

8 hours ago

Explain please

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Cythrawl

10 hours ago

Great, we are watching the rise of a female version of Hitler. If she ever gets the chancellorship I’d be terrified of the direction she takes Germany.

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Frankfurt2021

6 hours ago

Come on. Le Pen, Orban, Trump, Taylor Greene, DeSantis and others seem to be muche more like that. Wagenknecht is just good at talk shows.

Don't worry.

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BJfromAK

11 hours ago

The idea that these extremists met with Russians and everything was on the up and up is about like believing Trump and Putin’s meeting was also innocent.

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dles23

13 minutes ago

Of course, at the beginning of WWII, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed between Germany and Russia, basically setting the stage for the conquest of Eastern Europe by those two countries. Germany got greedy a year or two later, and went to war against Russia. Sounds like maybe some parties in Germany would like their own piece of Ukraine.

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Bill Cat

10 minutes ago

No one in Germany wants Ukraine. And no one wants Russia.

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kirtu

17 minutes ago

Wagenknecht is increasingly discredited inside Germany. Her activities since October 2022 have been openly troubling. I would agree that polls up to about that point in time were favorable for her but the pro-Russian demos really revealed the reality of the situation. It is not possible for Russia to "unite" the AfD and Die Linke nor is another party composed of a sufficiently numerous subset of people from either of these parties really conceivable. It *IS* possible to use the German peace movement to advance some Russian goals but these would be tactical goals (specific weapons shipments and discussion around that), not strategic goals - Germans largely do not buy the falsehood that the Ukraine belongs to Russia or the falsehood that Ukrainian culture is a true subset of Russian culture or the ultimate falsehood that Ukrainian culture doesn't exist. But this cuts the other way too - Germans will largely not be supportive of Ukrainian military efforts that can be interpreted as offensive (the misguided attempt to regain control of the Crimea for example).

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Sobol1

13 minutes ago

Why in the world getting back Crimea, shamelessly stolen from Ukraine, would be ‘misguided’?

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kirtu

1 minute ago

Because the Russians regard it as an integral part of Russia and will definitely see a concerted military effort to secure it as an existential threat which will then result in nuclear release. The very fact that that question is being asked means that the people raising the question do not understand the situation or the Russians.

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Bill Cat

5 minutes ago

Regaining Crimea is a well guided plan and will be successful

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Sobol1

3 minutes ago

(Edited)

No Ukrainian will be willing to settle for less than returning their country to the 1991 borders! Slava Ukraine!

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dvdldr

2 minutes ago

Boris Pistorius seems to have less scepticism as of late about Ukrainian offensive operations, if I recall the implicit acceptance of attacks on the aggressor’s territory (on military targets of course!).

But generally I agree, there is a (albeit small) horseshoe-shaped subset of Germans that are willing accomplices of the russian regime. Unfortunately that is also the case in Austria, the lessons of the post-WW2-era seemed to have fostered a misguided pseudo-pacifism where even victims of aggression are not permitted to fight for their sovereignty.

And I am against the notion that the effort to liberate the Crimean peninsula should even be regarded as an offensive operation — but I highly doubt the Ukrainians would risk a head-on approach but would rather apply a strategic denial of force and militarily starve russian troops of supplies.

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10 Fingers

21 minutes ago

You'd think Russians were frightened by the might of the United States and Nato but it's quite possible they are more scared, deeply, by their own country. Trapped in a hollow closet and constantly judged not just for what they could do but for what they can't.

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Sensum_communem

24 minutes ago

The Russian runt, Putin, hatches another brain dead strategy.

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ptgrunner

25 minutes ago

Too bad we don't have an anti-war party here in the U.S. The anti-war protests we do have don't even get reported. This is a sick country we now live in with daily gun violence and being overall pro-war in our MSM. One thing I hear in the WaPo blogs but never in the pro-Russian blogs I read is people calling for the assassination of foreign leaders. I also see people rejoicing in the killing of Russian soldiers. But I don't see the pro-Russian crowd celebrating the deaths oF Ukrainians. This is modern America.

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jeagerca

24 minutes ago

(Edited)

OK, tovarisch tankie.

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hawk001

7 minutes ago

Pro-Russians are complicit in murder; expecting them to cheer in public for their victims would be slightly exaggerated, don't you think?

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Mister Big

1 minute ago

Russians don't even know what's going on in Ukraine thanks to their censored media. So you can't expect them to comment as you would expect.

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Will in Seattle

39 minutes ago

We used to call them agents provocateurs.

When, like the far right or those who think they are far left (but work for the far right), they are working for Putin, they're not pro-Peace.

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Punditry

40 minutes ago

Even if it may be legal (or maybe not) to knowingly disseminate top secret material worldwide that was unlawfully released by a soon-to-be felon, I wonder what further damage is done. And wonder about WaPo’s judgment in continuing to run headline stories.

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Bill Cat

37 minutes ago

What good does it do to hide stuff that is already widely spread? All the damage is done. Can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. But it has put Ukraine back on the front page and increased support dramatically for their cause.

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wfmccarthy

50 minutes ago

(Edited)

Only the hegemonic countries care about this.

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Ginkgo9

23 minutes ago

Finland is hegemonic? Bwhaahahhhhaaaa

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Nick From Montreal

2 hours ago

Well, it's common knowledge that Olaf Scholz is an old "Left Party" sympathizer—google "Hubertus Knabe" to find out just how implicated Scholz is with the Stasi holdovers in Germany—and it all definitely gibes with the foot-dragging over German aid to Ukraine.

Moscow most definitely has fingers in many, many German pies and I think we'll see a lot more of that foot-dragging in the months and years to come.

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J V Kopek

2 hours ago

(Edited)

Thank you Angela Merkel. Your unilateral decision to open the borders to over a million refugees and close German nuclear facilities accomplished two things. The flood of immigrants from the Middle East led to the creation of the AfD and decision to shut down nuclear led to a structural reliance on Russian energy supplies. Without Merkel the conditions that the Russians are seeking to exploit would have fallen on deaf ears. As for those Germans who see themselves as natural allies of Russia, the years of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact must seem like a golden age.

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Mustermann

2 hours ago

Uhm... you do realize that fossil fuel consumption in Germany (in the lectric sector) went down, yes? Natural gas consumption remained stable while coal (also imported from Russia) dropped quite singificantly. It should also be noted that Rosatom is a core player in the global nuclear industry. There is a reason the west hasn't sanctioned it yet.

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HelsinkiSyndrome

1 hour ago

Well, we in Finland cut off Rosatom in process of building a nuclear plant to Finland. And of course cut of imports of oil, natural gas and electricity. It can be done.

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Biden Time

1 hour ago

The Linke and the AFD have made essentially no electoral progress in Germany. The white population of Germany is ageing out and dying. The poverty and misery in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Iraq, Egypt, Iran, Syria and Africa are soaring. There are millions of young men who will never be able to earn enough to buy a wife. The US and Canada are trying to close off the borders. The rich Muslim oil states do not want these people. We need Germany to take these refugees and we should encourage this since many of the refugees are in countries the US has invaded. Fortunately the current regime in Germany is completely on board with the war in Ukraine, dismantling Russia and getting rid of Putin, and remaining open for more immigrants from the global south. Over half of the school children in Germany are migrant children. That means in a few years Germany will be demographically more a west Asian/African nation than what we think of when we think of a European nation. In much of Germany that is already the case. That accounts for a lot of the electoral strength of the Greens who are pro immigration.

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Herald

2 hours ago

The Neo-libs in the Democratic Party and the Neo-cons in the Republican Party are all holding hands and singing Ukrainian patriotic songs. Isn't that sweet? But, increasingly, your average tax-paying voter is growing leery of this proxy-war. The far right and far left will eventually rule the day, because the entire global economy is on the verge of a super-crash, that will likely play out this Fall, maybe earlier.

When that happens, US and EU support for this useless, protracted war will drop through the floor.

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Bill Cat

2 hours ago

Have you tried replacing the batteries in your Magic 8-Ball?

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B Civil

2 hours ago

(Edited)

Americans also support Biden's commitment to admitting Ukrainian refugees into United States and expediting their legal entry process.

A Gallup poll conducted April 1-19 showed 78% of Americans approved of "allowing up to 100,000" Ukrainian refugees into the U.S. — the highest level of American public support for admitting refugees that Gallup has found in its polling on various refugee situations since 1939.

The support is widespread across party affiliation, gender, education, income and regions of the country, said Lydia Saad, director of U.S. Social Research at Gallup.

Also see:

Meanwhile, a Reuters/Ipsos poll this week showed that 73% of Americans support the administration's efforts to supply Ukraine with weapons, the highest level of support since Russia invaded its neighbor in February.

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Bill Cat

2 hours ago

Wonder how much the leaked documents pushed that number up. Having Ukraine on the front page helps.

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Herald

2 hours ago

(Edited)

@Bcivil. Wrong. I tracked down your Reuters/Ipsos poll. It's from October of 2022.

A more recent poll taken this year shows that support dropping to 48%. Huge drop! In a very short time.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/support-for-ukraine-aid-softens-in-u-s-public-poll-says

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B Civil

2 hours ago

(Edited)

Here is a more in depth look at the very poll you site, from NORC itself:

Continuing support for U.S. involvement a year into the war between Russia and Ukraine

Most adults still think the United States should play at least some role in the war. Support for specific interventions like supplying weapons to Ukraine is waning.

AP NORC . Org

February 15, 2023

https://apnorc.org/projects/acontinuing-support-for-u-s-involvement-a-year-into-the-war-between-russia-and-ukraine-a/

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Bill Cat

1 hour ago

CNN and Gallop have support closer to 68% in Feb 2023.

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JDawgitty

2 hours ago

Not exactly "proxy", we just say that for the media and you.

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mimi28

2 hours ago

Well Herald when Putin decides to invade the US because we have some Russian speakers here too. Don't come to Canada or Mexico because you won't be welcomed in either place. Because there are no one who are dumber than the far political extremists.

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Manu81

2 hours ago

For how many years those leaks will continue?

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archeopteryx

2 hours ago

This was one leak. Don't turn it into a trend. They are rare.

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mimi28

1 hour ago

And these "leaks" don't contain much the population didn't already figure out.

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I like science

2 hours ago

Maybe if this traitor who leaked sensitive information hangs it will send a message to others like him.

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Bill Cat

2 hours ago

The leak is plugged. It's past its use by date. Just trivia now.

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Alex of San Diego

2 hours ago

The Germans and Russians have been cozied up for decades. I don’t think the atrocities going on Ukraine are going to sway those self-interest relationships. When half the US wants to become isolationist we don’t hold much weight in managing those affairs long term..

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Mustermann

2 hours ago

Nah. Russland marched into an EU buffer state. And there is one thing Germany hates more than not being able to do business: Having a war-mongering nuisance right next door.

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Alex of San Diego

53 minutes ago

Until a year ago, Germany was just fine with doing business with the war- mongering state, Russia, as long as they got all the gas and oil they wanted, cheap. I think at this point we see a lot of glittery lipstick on that particular pig.

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The Real Anthony Devolder

2 hours ago

For a good look at Russian dis info, look for a news item about Ukraine on twitter ..then look at the comments that follow !

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KMan82

2 hours ago

To counter this the west and Ukraine have to promote open civil war in Russia and get the military, leaders and people to turn on each other, which is precisely what ended Russia's involvement in WWI just over a century ago.

Yes, people will die, there will be destruction and institutions will fall. But better in Russia which started all this than Ukraine or the rest of the world, and in the end it'll be for the best for Russia and its people.

What we need is a second Russian Revolution to finish what the first one failed to accomplish, a genuinely free, thriving and functional society.

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Elaine Eshbaugh

2 hours ago

“WAPO EXCLUSIVE!!”

Clink on article to read our latest posting derived from our EXCLUSIVE access to some young punk’s pilfering of up to 300 secret documents!!

We will be publishing up to several a day until the entire 300 or so have been utterly exhausted and our ability to publish click bait on this particular subject will finally also be exhausted.

We do this as a service to inform the majority of our readers who wouldn’t otherwise have the ability to find this content using other sources on the internet if they used both hands, a shovel, and a flashlight…saying this just in case someone out there comments that this info is already “out there,” so we “reporters” aren’t doing any damage publishing this extremely important click bait day after day.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s latest installment of “WAPO’s subscription base is dwindling at alarming rates these last two years so we gotta do what we gotta do!”

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MaggieBoo1234

3 hours ago

Troll farms? Graffiti?? What's next? Of course there is geopolitics at play, but this is just an effort to smear anti-war politicians, who we need many more of!

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Mike JT

3 hours ago

Then go ask Russian politicians to advocate for stopping the war. We all know who started this.

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new city

3 hours ago

Many of us have been wondering about the influence the Kremlin is having on the Republican Party. There policy comments often go beyond differences of opinion.

To wit: Starting with Trump then onto others such as Greene & DeSantis & others, their comments have parroted the Russian line. This despite the fact that the case against Russia's criminal invasion & destruction of another European nation is quite clear & damning.

At times these Republicans seem not only to be against American policy but against America itself. It seems safe to say these folks are pro Russia & against America. ( I wonder) where are they getting their policy position statements? Murky donors, perhaps? Is there an active Russian 5th column operating in our country?

Certainly, there are ample reasons for investigations into their contacts/staffs and the clandestine activities of Russia in America.

May God bless & protect our beautiful Republic.

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e evans smith jones

3 hours ago

"[Republicans] comments have parroted the Russian line"

Yes just like sweet ol' anti-war 60's hippies were accused of being Commies.

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B Civil

2 hours ago

Putin brutally and aggressively invaded the sovereign European nation of Ukraine…again.

He violated International Sovereignty Law and is objectively committing war crimes.

There is no parallel.

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Casual Route

3 hours ago

Like they have with the Republican party.

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MEC20201202

3 hours ago

(Edited)

Russia is trying to win their war in Germany because they unable to win it in Ukraine.

Putin picked a fight with the wrong people. The current population of Ukraine is descended largely from medieval Cossacks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cossacks#Ukrainian_Cossacks

Cossacks did two things well - farm and fight. They would hire themselves out as shock-troop mercenaries in exchange for lands suitable for farming.

They were sturdy people, honest, deeply religious, they valued personal independence, observed equality for women, and ruled themselves under democratic principles.

In short, a migraine headache for both Putin and Republicans.

My kind of people.

They don't wave white flags.

They flip the bird to Russian warships, then sink them.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Stamp_of_Ukraine_s1985.jpg

Putin is exhausting his poorly-maintained stockpile of Cold War weapons in a vain attempt to match up-to-date US and NATO weapons, an indomitable Ukrainian will, and battlefield cunning that makes his forces look foolish.

Each day demoralized Russian forces grow weaker and US- and NATO-supplied Ukrainian forces grow stronger and more capable. This ends in only one way.

I suspect the end of the war also means the end of Putin. He has two ways out - politically or feet-first. My money is on #2.

I doubt Putin will be around to tinker with another US national election.

Sorry Donald.

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Polysciprof

3 hours ago

The international tie that binds far right movements is their embrace of ethnic cleansing. Problem is, they all want a different ethnicity cleansed. (btw having lived and taught in both Germany and Russia, the probability of a long lasting, peaceful German/Russian partnership is historically and logically doomed.)

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e evans smith jones

3 hours ago

The anti-religion sentiment in the US is a bit close to the embrace of ethnic cleansing. One gets the feeling that the religious would be euthanized if anti-'s could get away with it.

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ObieDobie

3 hours ago

How will they feel when Russia takes East Germany back? Don’t call us .

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e evans smith jones

3 hours ago

(Edited)

They will happily not call us. We still occupy their country on military installations. The east is where the neos who are anti-Russian are. They would fight tooth and nail.

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Frankfurt2021

2 hours ago

Oh please ... Get youself educated and find out that it's just a minority of 15-20% that supports those ideas.

Don't you think it's a lot more concerning that nearly half of the US population is supporting the autocratic, corrupt, anti-democratic, demogogic Republican Party?

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Coalition to Abolish Cat Juggling

3 hours ago

These "Russtroturf" anti-war "movements" in western countries are most decidedly pro Russia using war and war crimes to dominate their sphere of influence.

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macielun

4 hours ago

WP.4/212023.Kremlin tries to build antiwar coalition in Germany, documents show

A troublesome question in Berlin is finding the best strategy to deal with post-war Ukraine's proxy war.

But first, can a long-lasting solution be found, or a new wall in Central Europe is inevitable? Following the US and incorporating Ukraine into EU/NATO is Germany's national security interest or not?

If the answer to the question above is negative, Germany will lean toward an antiwar peaceful negotiated solution.

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David Brankley

4 hours ago

Populist Left meets populist Right, and scribes for the entrenched interests this coalition most threatens has a ready made explanation to put forward - " It's all a Russian plot". No actual evidence is put forward until they can manufacture something. Until then, innuendo is a powerful weapon when skillfully employed and advanced by every media outlet in their vast echo chamber. This is not a conspiracy theory. No conspiracy is necessary when everyone in the press ( minus a few dissident voices, easily marginalized) already agrees or can be manipulated.

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VVet46

4 hours ago

How's the weather in Moscow today, brank?

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TheTschermanComments

4 hours ago

(Edited)

I read: "No conspiracy is necessary when everyone in the press ( minus a few dissident voices, easily marginalized) already agrees or can be manipulated."

That's Russia he was writing about, though he missed the part with brutal force from FSB and the injustice of criminal court rulings against dissidents.

Maybe he trolls in St. Petersburg, not in Moscow and therefore has less insight.

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Machiavoltaire

5 hours ago

Great folks that Kremlin.

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ophelia3

5 hours ago

Being anti-war is an American value. At least it was until the neocons took over the joint.

Also a human value. No matter what country.

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callas1

3 hours ago

It's ok to be antiwar. It's not ok to be a dupe for the agenda of other nations.

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ex bubba

6 hours ago

(Edited)

Who seems to always be a group of people, large or small, that love to be told what to do without question. They will work very hard to get their demagogue into power because they love waking up in the morning knowing that everyone around them thinks just as they do regardless of the facts or potential personal decisions that could be made. It makes life so much easier when everything is mapped out for you. Germany seems particularly susceptible to this kind of activity because of the combination of discipline and living by rules that may or may not be logical. But they do keep great records of their activities good or bad!

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Mememe1234

6 hours ago

You're THE real authority on Germans and German ways./s

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ex bubba

4 hours ago

Not really but those rigid types are in every country. Germans are just more efficient at it in some cases.

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Frankfurt2021

5 hours ago

(Edited)

My goodness ...

You should much rather be upset about nearly half of the US population gladly welcoming a bunch of theocratic, ultra-right, authoritarian demagogues and liars!

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ex bubba

4 hours ago

(Edited)

As I said those types are in every country. Nothing I can do about it in any case except vote against them.

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Jrmirror

6 hours ago

If this Russian useful idiot wins the chancellorship of Germany it’s good night for Europe.

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Mememe1234

6 hours ago

Rest assured, she won't.

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Tellya

6 hours ago

Still right to be concerned. They said Trump would never be elected, and that was a near tragedy for democracy and NATO.

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Mememe1234

6 hours ago

Trump had many more supporters (and sadly, still does).

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Steffen Reinke

5 hours ago

(Edited)

I would say that was in good part a consequence of the US' two-party system, leading to a highly polarized population.

American citizens are probably almost as diverse as German ones in their exact political opinions, but having only two parties - which divide all sorts of high profile issues between them - means people flock to camps they might not vote for if they had more choice. Especially the one issue voters like anti-abortion extremists.

By comparison, in Germany people might disagree with the SPD on social issues, but (depending on where they stand on other issues) they'll just vote CDU or FDP instead because they see the AfD as nazis.

This is in addition to the US' ongoing culture war over guns, racism and sexual topics and a media landscape where big corporations are pushing conservative agendas with blatant lies due to lack of proper regulation in the name of "free speech", as if nobody ever heard of the Paradox of Tolerance.

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Frankfurt2021

6 hours ago

Don't worry - it won't happen. Wagenknecht is good at talk shows but that is it.

The far right AfD has never had an approval rate of above 12-15 % (which definitely is more than I'd wish) and the far left is at approx. 5% these days.

Unlike France, Italy, some of the Scandinavian countries, let alone Eastern European ones, the far right movement in Germany is by far less strong.

From a European point of view, the ultra right Republicans in the US are much more of a threat ...

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Chivas FC fan

6 hours ago

It's chilling to learn that Russia is actively manipulating politics in other countries. How much has happened, is happening, in the US?

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Mememe1234

6 hours ago

A lot. This has been reported on ad nauseam. Wake up.

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Chivas FC fan

6 hours ago

(Edited)

It "IS" a rhetorical question.

Bye.

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uzs106

8 minutes ago

(Edited)

This is a conspiracy theory. Like the theory of a revolution of the "Reichsbuerger" some months ago. Because we are Cossacks. George H. W. Bush 1991, the national anthem and the constitution are enough. Because we are Cossacks, thats the only justification the Cossacks of the so called Euromajdan revolution have in this war. This revolution had no clear political purpose. It was a demo against corruption and poverty and what did they get? Well, Putin said that. The visa scandal 2.0. sotosay. Ask Gerhand Simon and an article reprinted by Carnegie in 2014. I call this argument Odessa 1917. Because we are Cossacks:

The Only Way to Save Ukraine: Federalization

Balázs Jarábik

- May 13, 2014

- National Interest

Summary: Russia may be the only side that can achieve its goals in Ukraine because it actually has a clear objective: federalization of the country.

The end of this article:

Ukraine and the West are free to chastise Russia and blame Moscow for the tragedy that has befallen Ukraine. Yet until there is a concerted Ukrainian effort to reform key central institutions and a more concerted Western effort to seriously aid Ukraine, the vision of federalization proposed by Moscow may become the only political reality.

Sorry, I dont buy this. Just an example. Because we are Cossacks. George H. W. Bush called them suicidal nationalist:

But freedom cannot survive if we let despots flourish or permit seemingly minor restrictions to multiply until they form chains, until they form shackles. Later today, I'll visit the monument at Babi Yar -- a somber reminder, a solemn reminder, of what happens when people fail to hold back the horrible tide of intolerance and tyranny.

Yet freedom is not the same as independence. Americans will not support those who seek independence in order to replace a far-off tyranny with a local despotism. They will not aid those who promote a suicidal nationalism based upon ethnic hatred.

Because we are Cossacks (tm).

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Scrimmin

6 minutes ago

Authored by that great Russian historian Vladimir Putin, purveyor of disinformation on a grand scale.

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Biden Time

1 hour ago

If the US does not get involved with boots on the ground and establish a no fly zone over Ukraine there is a chance the Russians will win. That could impact the coming presidential election. I support boots on the ground in Ukraine and a no fly zone. The US put 800000 troops on the ground to push Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait.....another free nation invaded......and did a no fly zone as well. At the time everyone thought Hussein had an atomic bomb. We need to do that ASAP. Biden is too timid and he might lose the election as a result. At least he took out the pipeline from Russia to Germany. For that he deserves a lot of credit.

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Necromicron

50 minutes ago

Nobody thought Saddam had an atomic bomb.

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Roberto Quemados

22 minutes ago

Condi Rice thought they did. Or was soon to have one. Remember that mushroom cloud business she and Rumsfeld were hawking so "the Shrub" could have his little war?

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1326Saint

38 minutes ago

(Edited)

Starting a war with Russia so that Biden is assured of reelection is an interesting, though not unexpected, take from a certain faction of the electorate.

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My2CentsToday

1 hour ago

Just because information comes from secret documents doesn't mean it's the most newsworthy item of the day. In other words, I grow tired of the first news item each day being about disclosed secrets. It's become boring.

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nytdhb

1 hour ago

Then go read the sports page.

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khmdesign

1 hour ago

Essentially, just about every 'secret' revealed had already been known and/or assumed long ago. Much of what goes on is not verified but assumed, due to common sense. This mutt that released verification of stuff already accepted as given, simply screwed himself.

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NJ Get Real

2 hours ago

You really can't blame the Russians. With its timid Chancellor, vacillating government, and a policy that tries to placate every nation it sells to or intends to sell to, Germany is clearly wants assistance in manipulating itself with foreign influence and misinformation.

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Louis Ferguson

2 hours ago

Yes, yes we can blame the Russians

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B Civil

2 hours ago

This is neither new nor “Exclusive” information.

Germany's domestic intelligence service is putting part of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party under systematic surveillance, judging it a threat to the democratic order.

BBC

March 12, 2020

And:

CONFLICTS GERMANY

Germany's far-right split by Russia-Ukraine war

DW

Ben Knight

03/28/2022

March 28, 2022

However:

Ukraine conflict: Putin's war prompts dramatic German U-turn

[snip]

Pro-Moscow personalities, such as former SPD chancellor and Russian energy lobbyist Gerhard Schröder, are seen as toxic. Politicians who a week ago were still expressing understanding for President Putin's arguments over Ukraine, such as prominent left-winger Sahra Wagenknecht, now say they were wrong

BBC

27 February 2022

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Berliner Bear

2 hours ago

The relatively new information alleging the German Left and Right might join forces is the pertinent part of the article. Others have speculated this as well but this seems to go farther. I’m skeptical that Russia could pull it off given their current dismal state of affairs but I’m in no way surprised that they would try.

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Mustermann

2 hours ago

Everyone who watched Wagenknecht over the last 1-3 years could see it happening in real time. She went from "She does have a point..." to "That may as well be Höcke." during the pandemic. And it only accelerated with the war.

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B Civil

2 hours ago

I disagree that this is “new information”.

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Kc79

2 hours ago

A former Putin advisor said Putin's tactics are a return to worse than cold war times: it's a return to stalinism.

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Ronrob

3 hours ago

The Germans are right and are exercising their democratic right to protest a bs war. Less advocating and more journalism is what we need from our so-called journalists.

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12oreo

3 hours ago

I agree, Putin's war is BS.

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Ronrob

3 hours ago

I agree that Putin and Nato are fighting a bs war with intense danger to all of humanity.

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anotherfacet

2 hours ago

Ronrob, if you are not a Russian bot, then consider that NATO rolling over to naked aggression and imperialism is more dangerous to humanity than facing off to the bully. Appeasement is a losing strategy.

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W0X0F_

2 hours ago

You try to make it sound so reasonable but you fail.

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Frankfurt2021

2 hours ago

Fortunately, it's not "the" Germans who believe the Russian aggression should be accepted or Ukraine's defence should not be supported. It's just a minority. Certainly, hardly anybody approves of a war, but in this case it's all about the defence of freedom and democracy.

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Mizunoboy

3 hours ago

Putin keeps telling the world that the western allies' objective is to destroy Russia.

Don't be an idiot, Vlad. Don't tempt fate.

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TheTschermanComments

3 hours ago

a self-fulfilling prophecy if this idiot won't stop this war!

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Mister Big

9 minutes ago

(Edited)

Fascinating article on the methods Russian influencers employ, and I'm sure the Russians have use the same tactics with many of our politicians and "news entertainment" hosts. I'm thinking Jill Stein sitting at the table with Putin and Michael Flynn. I'm thinking Tulsi Gabbard arguing against "endless wars". We have so many who are compromised in this country.

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jmhbpc

9 minutes ago

Now that Russia has gruesomely made their point that NATO presents an

"existential threat" to their regime, perhaps Sahra Wagenknecht should be proffering the notion that the true path to peace requires Russia's cessation of all aggressive action, withdraw its troops and war machine and peacefully gather nations into a diplomatic process on creating peace and prosperity in the region.

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1326Saint

11 minutes ago

It’s always an entertainment to read Post comments on these issues. The constant refrain from some alleging that those with a contrary opinion are Russians (Comrade, Sergei, etc) is a fascinating example of group think in lieu of actual thinking.

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1326Saint

1 hour ago

Too bad there are no Wagenknechts in the US. It’s an important perspective.

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zwiefldraader

1 hour ago

As important as MTG or Matt Gaetz.

Not to be missed when gone.

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Alastair Hastings1066

58 minutes ago

Great comment Comrade. I'm sure the Kremlin will reward you.

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Hydromatick

35 minutes ago

There are more than enough Wagenknechts in the US, Sergei, and their perspective is given exactly the amount of attention it deserves.

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1326Saint

30 minutes ago

(Edited)

There are no national politicians on the left who are voicing Wagenknecht’s perspective.

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Kevinish

2 hours ago

Reuters broke this story months ago.

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Kathleen Adams

2 hours ago

Arrest them and throw them in jail treat them like the Russiand do

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jes999

2 hours ago

Why can't we all just stay out of each other's lives -- unless it's to help each other? I can't get angry at the Kremlin, because Washington often does the same thing: meddles in other countries when it has no business doing so.

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rdoran

2 hours ago

Sorry, we're flawed, but this "we're no better than Putin's Russia" is a fundamentally silly argument.

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JAJ MN

2 hours ago

Exactly! But this is an effective argument to get the extreme leftists to support right wing autocracy over flawed democracy.

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Mustermann

2 hours ago

Not really. Most extreme leftists are capable of hating the US and Russia at the same time.

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READ MORE OF THIS CONVERSATION >

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Louis Ferguson

2 hours ago

Our past misdeeds do not excuse Putin's invasion of a sovereign nation. Stop the what aboutism, the topic at hand is Russian aggression and meddling

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BOBinBlueridge

2 hours ago

Moscow starts to put Trial of Ukraine Officials in Absentee on Trial. Very Interesting......https://meduza.io/en/news/2023/04/21/ukraine-intelligence-chief-kyrylo-budanov-arrested-in-absentia-by-moscow-court

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Every Cop is a Criminal

2 hours ago

Marrying Germany’s far right and far left is a Kremlin goal,

Them tricky Russians have changed course 180 degrees. Their new plan is to unite and conquer.

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Rascally Rabbit

2 hours ago

Actually, they're dividing German politics, because to unite the extreme left and right is to pit them against the rest of Germans.

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Mustermann

2 hours ago

Too bad that most of the extreme left hates Russia even more than the US. If you want to get the left going you need a different enemy. Like the FDP.

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Rascally Rabbit

2 hours ago

However, they are forming a common bond for this, and thus screwing over Germany and the rest of the world.

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John Clarke

3 hours ago

It used to be "What we are say-ing/is give peace a chance", I guess it's now "What we are say-ing/is give Putin a win".

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Prognosticist

3 hours ago

Did they try to marry AOC/Bernie with MAGA too lol ?

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B Civil

2 hours ago

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is indefensible. The U.S. is right to impose targeted sanctions on Putin & his oligarchs. We also must work with our allies to prepare for a refugee crisis on a massive scale.

~Rep Ocasio-Cortez

February 23, 2022

And:

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine that the world is witnessing today is a blatant violation of international law and of basic human decency. It may well kill thousands and displace millions. It could plunge Europe into long-term economic and political instability.

“The United States and our allies must impose severe sanctions on Vladimir Putin and his fellow oligarchs. At a time when thousands may die as a result of his war, Putin, one of the richest people in the world, should not be allowed to enjoy the billions he stole from the Russian people. The United States must also work closely with international partners to provide humanitarian relief for the Ukrainian people.”

[emphasis mine]

~Sen. Sanders

February 24, 2022

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callas1

4 hours ago

Good article. There are alot of Russian sympathizers among old-style commies of a certain generation, especially in Germany. This is shown in the excellent German dramas Deutschland 1983 and its sequels. In fact the assassination of the Deutsche Bank CEO by the Red Army Faction in 1989 was most likely planned with the assistance of one KGB agent Vladimir Putin who was stationed in Dresden at the time. He is a master manipulator.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/06/20/vladimir-putin-dresden-kgb-330203

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Frankfurt2021

1 hour ago

All true but please take into account that the attitudes described in the article are supported by just a minority of approx. 20% of Germans - which certainly is more than I would wish. But in the foreseeable future, there's no risk it would turn to a majority.

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Southfranconian_Brigand

5 hours ago

Breaking news.

'Political extremist fringes enable and support dictatorial fascism!

Russian money and influence found on the streets!

Inverted horse shoes hold no luck!'

Read all about it here.

'WaPo's - We have the Leaks!

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Marcelo Caetano 1972

6 hours ago

Russia and Germany...up to the same old internal subversion strategies. They've been doing this for 130 years, most notably when Germany injected Russia with the Communism virus in 1917 when they sent V.I. Lenin to subvert Czarist Russia. (The 1939-1941 joint treaty carving up Poland was a short-term aberration, and ultimately a strategic feint.)

At least AfD is getting some serious cash to run their pro-Germany politics.

"Fun and games, man, fun and games." - from the movie "JFK"

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Frankfurt2021

5 hours ago

What do you think are the merits of comparing today's Germany to the early 20th century??

The ultra-right AfD has an nationwide approval rate of approx. 12-15 % .

Sarah Wagenknecht is good at talk shows.

I am a lot more concerned about what's going on in the US.

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ophelia3

6 hours ago

Good old Wapo.

Attacking antiwar as if it's a bad thing while ignoring completely the intense, inescapable, profuse, heavy-handed, well-funded pro-war firehose of propaganda. The banners, the slogans, the salutes, the celebrity photo shoots, the censorship, the B-list celebrity 'influencers', the 8 years of bigotry against any and all things Russia from neoMcCarthyites.

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Marcelo Caetano 1972

6 hours ago

The WaPo has their own firehose of propaganda and b_s_ they're using to spray their American readers and gullible others.

Why draw attention to other's propaganda campaigns when they're even more guilty? And inept?

#GuildProtection

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Lagniapp

6 hours ago

It's not demonizing "antiwar." It's support for a sovereign nation being invaded and decimated. It's not bigotry against "any and all things Russia." It's support for Navaltny and Kara-Murza and those hundreds of thousands Russians protesting Putin's mad invasion.

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ophelia3

5 hours ago

This article gives new meaning to the term 'Orwellian'.

The 'invasion' began with the neocon regime operation in 2014. We have been arming and prepping Ukraine since that time. And not for a friendly tea party. That isn't sovereignty.

Worry first about the suppression of speech here first and what we are doing, especially in regards our own jailed dissidents.

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Steffen Reinke

5 hours ago

Oh boy, it sounds like you might be referring to the violent extremists who are facing the legal consequences for breaking a plethora of laws such as unlawful entry into a federal building and injuring security personnel.

"Suppression of free speech" is something only conservatives are interested in, considering their book banwaves or the lies and agitprop being churned out by right-wing media conglomerates like Sinclair when they're monopolizing the airwaves by buying up a hundred local stations to replace with their drones in a re-enactment of Nazi-German Gleichschaltung.

Ukraine has been under attack since 2014. I fail to see how sending weapons to a defender to help preserve their sovereignty is somehow a bad thing. Russia remains the aggressor and Russia can stop this any time they want by leaving other countries alone.

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Het puttertje

5 hours ago

Your English gives you away, dear. Where in Russia are you writing from?

I have read Stoltenberg’s whole speech. Hon, you’re nitpicking:

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_212041.htm

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Lolafola

7 hours ago

Shameless grifters.

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Randal Pinfer

9 hours ago

proof read the article as there is an error in your word use

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LG 007

10 hours ago

The August 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact is alive and well today in regards to Germany and Russia!

Could this be the reason why the Baltic and East European States are all Pro American today ie Pro-NATO?

Nah!!!!!

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