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Green politician Anton Hofreiter

Photo: Kay Nietfeld / dpa

The Green Party politician Anton Hofreiter has warned the federal government against sticking to the debt brake in view of the blockade of aid to Ukraine in the US Congress. "We now have to invest significantly more quickly in order to equip Ukraine with sufficient weapons and ammunition and to become ready for defense," the chairman of the European Committee in the Bundestag told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “In view of the great challenges, sticking to the debt brake would be a security risk,” emphasized Hofreiter.

The blocking of aid to Ukraine by the Republicans in the US Congress makes it clear that “we in Europe are even more required to ensure our own security,” Hofreiter continued. "Ukraine must stop the Russian army to prevent the war from spreading."

The opposition Republicans have been blocking the release of further billions in aid for Ukraine for months. On Wednesday, a legislative package that included around $60 billion (56 billion euros) in new aid for Kiev failed in the Senate.

After his visit to US President Joe Biden in Washington on Friday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) once again appealed to the US Congress to decide on new aid for Ukraine and warned of massive consequences if US aid for Ukraine dried up . It's about a joint transatlantic message to the Russian President, said the Chancellor. It must be made clear to him that he cannot expect support for Ukraine to decrease. "Germany and the United States must play an important role in maintaining peace in the world."

The head of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, explained in an interview with the "Rheinische Post" on Saturday that there is also a danger for Germany itself: He does not consider a Russian attack on NATO territory to be ruled out if Ukraine loses the war. When asked whether he believed Putin could attack a NATO country, Heusgen continued: “Of course. Putin has said several times that the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century was the collapse of the Soviet Union, because it left many Russians stranded outside Russia's borders.

OK/AFP