German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made a public statement saying that Germany could not follow in the UK’s footsteps by using its forces to help Ukrainians fire Storm Shadow missiles in Ukraine. By making this statement Scholz has betrayed his British allies, compromised the lives of British officers in Ukraine, and revoked any trust he may have had in the allies. His behaviour, is not surprising, however, having been the Western leader who has mostly fought for appeasement to Russia.
On a more long-term basis, this kind of insular and opportunistic behavior compromises the European defensive structure. Europe can make do without Hungary and Malta, but it can’t afford to have its members compromising other members’ security arrangements for political reasons. Neither can Ukraine be offered as a sacrificial lamb to Russia for Europe’s security, both for moral reasons and also practical, strategic, and material reasons that ultimately defeat the purpose of this aim: to appease Russia into peace.
This current European divide is unhealthy for our security because European security would work best if security and sovereignty were assured for every European state. This divide can be very easily categorised between insular nationalism and a European perspective, and it is strange, at best, that Germany is currently more aligned with the former on Ukraine.
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