What Germany Owes Ukraine

Foreign Policy Initiative Fellow James Kirchick blasts the depiction of Angela Merkel as Europe’s “Iron Lady” as she orchestrates diplomacy with Russia over aggression in Ukraine while emphasizing military confrontation is not an option. Kirchick assesses Putin’s strategy: “He intends to punish Ukraine for ousting its pro-Russian leader” through “a semi-permanent condition of low-intensity armed conflict.” German historical memory may be the reason behind Merkel’s refusal to mobilize, over-emphasizing Nazi brutalities for Russia and overlooking the Soviet history in Ukraine, Kirchick surmises. German guilt over World War II damage inflicted on Moscow, he claims, has resulted in a state of “permanent victimhood status” for Putin’s Russia and the rise of the “Russland versteher,” or “Russia understander,” in German vernacular and consciousness. Kirchick dismisses such views as misguided in an essay that focuses on history with scant mention strong Russian sympathies among the separatists in Ukraine. Military conflict with Russia would devastate Europe, which does not have stomach for such a fight.– YaleGlobal