A new poll carried out by one of the United States papers of record has revealed that Germans are growing increasingly reluctant to provide additional military support to Ukraine, with well over half of the population standing in opposition to the idea.
The survey, conducted by the Washington Post, revealed that although an overwhelming majority (91%) of Germans expressed sympathy for Ukraine, more than half of respondents (54%) said their country is either doing enough (37%) or too much (17%) to assist Ukraine’s military efforts and its refugees.
To assess the level of public support for “increasing sanctions on Russia and Putin, even if these sanctions might lead to a further increase in food and gas prices,” “sending more missiles and other military equipment to Ukraine, even if this increased Germany’s military budget,” “welcoming more refugees, even if it placed additional burdens on the economy,” and “admitting Ukraine to NATO,” even if it means being required to defend the country militarily, respondents were asked how much they supported (none, a little, some, very, or extremely) each policy.
While 40% of respondents expressed strong support for more sanctions regardless of the economic consequences, only 31% strongly supported welcoming additional refugees, sending more weapons, and admitting Ukraine into NATO.
Additionally, there was a pronounced divide between the formerly-socialist East German states and the western part of the country. Former East Germans expressed considerably less willing to support Ukraine than their fellow countrymen and women in the West.
For instance, 52% of former East Germans opposed increasing military to Ukraine, while just 27% of West Germans expressed the same sentiment. Journalists at the Washington Post chalked the divergence of opinion up to what they referred to as the East’s “more benign attitude toward Russia” and “greater skepticism toward NATO.”
