A German politician from the coalition-leading Social Democratic Party has criticised the UK’s record on helping Ukrainian refugees. Niels Annen was responding to criticism levelled against Germany, including the country’s initial reluctance to send heavy weaponry to Ukraine.
Questioning the UK’s own record, Mr Annen asked a BBC presenter: “Do I politely ask how many refugees from Ukraine the United Kingdom has welcomed?”
Germany has been one of the main military supporters of Ukraine, and has also welcomed over a million Ukrainian refugees according to UN figures.
The UK, in comparison, has welcomed 154,000 Ukrainian refugees – less than Spain, Italy, the US, Czech Republic, Germany and Poland.
Britain was, however, one of the leading countries when it came to supplying military support to Kyiv.
On BBC Radio Four’s Today Programme, Mr Annen praised German Chancellor Olaf Scholz: “[Scholz] turned German foreign and security policy around.
“Germany today is Ukraine’s third biggest weapons supplier – we are supplying highly sophisticated heavy weaponry.
“We are the leading doner when it comes to the reconstruction effort. We have been readying support bills in humanitarian development assistance.”
On welcoming refugees, Mr Annen added: ‘We are used to that pressure (from Refugees).
“You cannot choose the times you are living in. I think it’s interesting to see the last years, we saw many talking heads, think tanks, politicians – calling on Berlin for more leadership. Well, now you get your leadership.
“It’s probably not always what you like, what you expect.”
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“We are bleeding out. With all our donations to the Ukrainian army and with no reordering so far the German army is getting weaker on a daily level.”
A spokesperson for the German Ministry of Defence denied the allegations that the military has been left under-resourced.
They said in a statement: “Germany’s defence is deeply embedded in [as well as contributing to] the transatlantic collective defence structures of NATO. Therefore, I cannot see that Germany needs to defend ‘itself’, collective defence matters.”
But Dr Barbara Kunz, senior researcher for the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg, disagreed.
She said: “I think this is a real problem and the German Ministry of Defence is plainly wrong on this, because, yes, Germany is in NATO, but in a way, Germany is NATO.
“NATO’s armed forces or NATO’s military strength is the strength of its member states. And so, if member states do not have the military forces required, NATO is weak.”
