Is the German chancellor provoking a war with Russia?

“Friedrich Merz is Roman Catholic. He is deeply rooted in the Catholic faith […] and sees his faith as a calling to work for peace and freedom.” – This is what Google AI displays when you enter the keywords “Catholic” and “Friedrich Merz”.
    In May 2025, just a few days after his election as Federal Chancellor, Merz also travelled to Rome to attend the inauguration of the new Pope Leo XIV and hold a press conference there.¹ At the time, Merz spoke of an “uplifting moment”, a “magnificent event”. He was asked: “In his speech, the Pope criticised economic systems that exploit resources and marginalise poor people. How did that strike you?” Merz replied: “With what we call the social market economy in Germany, I feel only very marginally addressed by this.” The discussion also turned to the war in Ukraine and bringing it to an end. On this, the Chancellor stated: “It is my firm impression that both Europeans and Americans are determined to work together – but now in a focused manner – to ensure that this terrible war will end soon.”
    The founder of Individual Psychology, Alfred Adler, found that people say many things to create a certain impression. True intentions and character, however, are revealed in one’s actions.
    Indeed. Looking at Friedrich Merz’s actions, the findings differ substantially from the AI information and the Chancellor’s quoted words.
    Current German financial, economic and social policy, and the question of how “social” the German market economy still is, will be left aside here. They merit separate consideration. This article is concerned with the German government’s war policy – and merely aims to highlight the connection with the everyday lives of people in Germany: It is the citizens, particularly the poorest among them, who are paying the high price for Germany’s war policy.
    It is no secret that Germany is rearming on a massive scale under Friedrich Merz’s government: the Bundeswehr is set to become the strongest conventional army in Europe by 2039. To this end, Friedrich Merz, even before he became Chancellor, had the German debt brake suspended, intending to run up more than 500 billion euros in additional debt over the next 10 years. The whole country is being geared up for “war readiness”. The “enemy” against whom this war policy is directed is also openly named: it is Russia. That is why Ukraine is to continue the war against Russia by all means. Since April 2014, Ukraine has been waging war against its own Russian-speaking population, following an unconstitutional and violent change of government in February 2014, which was also supported by the German government of the time. They call this an “anti-terror operation”.
    This is another reason why Russian troops marched into the country on 24 February 2022. German involvement in this war does not serve the security of Ukrainians, nor does it serve the security of Germans. They are the ones bearing the brunt of the war: The Ukrainians in every respect and directly, the Germans indirectly through a war policy that is shattering the German economy, German public finances and the German welfare state. For whatever and for whomever (certainly not for the Ukrainians and not for the Germans): Russia is to be “ruined”, to suffer a “strategic defeat”.
    Germany has been directly involved in the war against Russia for some time now: with massive arms deliveries, the training of Ukrainian soldiers, military advice, etc. And today it boasts of standing in the front line alongside Ukraine. The fact that Russia has not yet responded to this with military force is no guarantee that this will remain the case. Germany is fuelling the spiral of escalation! Up to the hilt?
    With the “Declaration on a Strategic Partnership between Germany and Ukraine”² of 14 April 2026, Germany’s involvement in the war has reached a new dimension. Of particular interest are the agreements under the heading “Security” and the “Implementation Agreement on the Joint Production of Anubis-type Long-Range Combat Drones and Seth-X-type Medium-Range Combat Drones”. Such drones are to be built jointly at Ukrainian and German sites for the war against Russia, designed to strike targets deep within the Russian hinterland.
    Over the past two weeks, there have been many comments on this – particularly in the independent media. The contribution by former Member of the Bundestag Sevim Dagdelen was particularly clear in its assessment.³ We shall confine ourselves to an extract from an article that Thomas Röper – who has been sanctioned by the EU – published on his website:
    “On Wednesday [15 April], something happened that has never happened before. The Russian Ministry of Defence issued a statement warning that it would attack these sites [for joint drone production]. It is warning the populations of the affected European countries quite clearly from staying in the vicinity of these sites.
    There have been many Russian warnings in the past regarding the open involvement of European countries in the war. One could therefore easily dismiss this Russian warning and claim that Russia is just bluffing again. But this Russian warning differs significantly in one respect from anything we have seen before.
    As is well known, from 2022 onwards I took part in several press tours in the Donbass for foreign journalists, organised by the Russian Ministry of Defence. For each event of this kind, a Telegram chat was set up for the participants to discuss organisational matters. These included, for example, travel details, when and where which bus would be waiting, and so on. Once the event was over, these chats ‘died out’, and nothing more was posted there. […]
    On Wednesday, all these chats ‘came back to life’. The Russian Ministry of Defence posted its warning in all the chats, so it clearly has a keen interest in ensuring its latest statement is made known, particularly to foreign journalists and thus to a foreign audience. I am therefore publishing the statement here in full for information:
    ‘According to available information, on 26 March 2026, in the face of mounting losses and a worsening shortage of personnel in the Ukrainian armed forces, the governments of several European countries decided to increase the production and supply of drones for attacks on Russian territory in Ukraine. A significant increase in drone production for the Kyiv regime is planned through increased funding for ‘Ukrainian’ and ‘joint’ companies in European countries that manufacture combat drones and their components. We regard this decision as a deliberate move that will lead to a drastic escalation of the military-political situation across Europe and to the creeping transformation of these countries into Ukraine’s strategic hinterland. The implementation of the scenarios announced by representatives of the Kyiv regime—involving terrorist attacks against Russia using allegedly ‘Ukrainian’ drones of European manufacture—will lead to unforeseeable consequences. Instead of strengthening the security of European states, the actions of European governments are increasingly dragging these countries into war with Russia. The European public should not only clearly understand the true causes of the threats to their security but also know the addresses and locations of ‘Ukrainian’ and ‘joint’ companies manufacturing drones and their components for Ukraine in their countries’.
    This is followed by a list of 21 locations, primarily in European countries, where drones or their components are manufactured for Ukraine. The list […] also names three companies based in Germany: in Munich, these are DaVinci Avia GmbH, a drone manufacturer, and the Ukrainian company Airlogix, which also produces drones in collaboration with the German-American software manufacturer Auterion. According to the statement, the third company is 3W Professional from Hanau in Hesse.”
    However, there is no sign of Germany backing down. On the contrary: On 20 April, the German Foreign Office posted on X: “Our response is clear: we will not be intimidated. Such threats and all forms of espionage activities in Germany are completely unacceptable. The Russian ambassador was summoned today in connection with this.” We do not know how the meeting at the Foreign Office went. However, we do know what Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said a few days earlier at an international conference in Antalya, Turkey: “Patience is our national trait. […] But at some point, patience runs out.”

PS On 16 April, the “Berliner Zeitung” reported: “According to an international poll, Chancellor Friedrich Merz is the most unpopular head of government among leading democracies. As the US polling institute Morning Consult found, only 19 per cent of respondents in Germany are satisfied with his work. At the same time, disapproval stands at 76 per cent – the highest figure among the 24 heads of state and government surveyed.” Who and what gives Friedrich Merz the right to put Germany in such grave danger? •

¹https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/merz-amtseinfuehrung-papst-2348326 of 18 May 2025
²https://www.bundesregierung.de/resource/blob/974430/2420616/2810b1a2113c7d4687e75b47251397bc/2026-04-14-statement-german-ukrainian-government-consultations-german-data.pdf?download=1 of 14 April 2026
³https://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=149141 of 16 April 2026
⁴https://anti-spiegel.ru/2026/russland-warnt-firmen-zur-gemeinsamen-drohnenproduktion-in-deutschland-sind-legitime-ziele/ of 16 April 2026