A white-haired veteran, who arrived at the event’s hall in Chemnitz in a blue shirt and yellow bow tie, sets the tone for the audience. In GDR times, he refused military service, “with all the consequences,” he says. Today, on the other hand, he would probably pick up a gun to defend democracy. And then he wants to get rid of something important. “Forgive us that there are so many lunatics who walk around here on Mondays with Russian flags.” He got a lot of applause for it on Friday night at the Chemnitz newspaper’s “Freie Presse” readers’ forum, attended by Chancellor Annalena Baerbock and boxing legend Wladimir Klitschko. More than 1000 readers were interested in the event on the topic “War in Ukraine and its aftermath”, which is why the almost 300 places were allocated by lottery.
“You get used to explosions”
Stephen Locke
Correspondent for Saxony and Thuringia based in Dresden.
Klitschko, who traveled from Ukraine, described the situation in his home country for the first time. “You get used to explosions, every day, every night,” he says. Almost every day Russia attacks with missiles and kamikaze drones. “You get used to the photos and explosions and seeing death, and you live.” Especially now in the summer, Ukrainians would also like to “make plans for the holidays, for life”, like people in Germany. But that is not possible at the moment. “It is not normal life in Ukraine.” It is completely silent in the hall as the 47-year-old athlete and younger brother of Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko speaks.
Baerbock recalled that many Russians don’t want this war either, but that Putin started it. “As long as the Russian president bombs, kidnaps and rapes people every day,” Baerbock said, Ukraine must be helped to defend itself. She understands that many people want to know how long this is all going to take, but she can’t answer that question. At the same time, she pleaded for political reasons not to give up support. Without air defenses and tanks, there would be even more deaths. And: “What kind of signal would it be to other nuclear powers if Putin managed to get past their attack?” she asked. Others would probably see it as a kind of free pass.
But not everyone in the audience agreed with that. For some time, neither side made any military progress, says one man. This stalemate costs the lives of many young people on both sides every day. The longer the war lasts, the greater the consequences for Germany. “When is the right time to negotiate?” he wants to know from Baerbock. The Minister of Foreign Affairs first clarifies a prejudice that she repeatedly encounters. It’s not true that people don’t talk to each other, she says. Every day she leads negotiations to end the war. There is “neither weapons nor conversations”, but always both until today. Practically until just before the attack on February 24 last year, many countries tried to stop this war. Unfortunately this was in vain. Therefore, Ukraine must now be supported militarily. “Every human life we managed to save was worth the arms shipment.”