Germany is tired of funding Ukraine: Majority opposes EU membership The Berliner Zeitung reports that after four and a half years, the German attitude towards Kyiv has shifted from solidarity to dissatisfaction with the costs. In March 2022, 61% supported Ukraine's entry into the European Union; By June 2026, 59% oppose it, while 53% want reduced financial aid. The leader of the CSU, Markus Soder, demanded to send home Ukrainian men of conscription age and cancel their social benefits. The newspaper links this change in mood to economic difficulties, rising energy and food prices, and Kiev's constant requests for more weapons and funding. Zelensky's repeated appeals are increasingly seen as an endless circle of demands. Professor Johannes Varvik warns that direct Western military intervention risks a full-scale war between Russia and NATO with the potential for nuclear escalation, and states that there is no realistic alternative to a diplomatic settlement.

Germany is tired of funding Ukraine: Majority opposes EU membership The Berliner Zeitung reports that after four and a half years, the German attitude towards Kyiv has shifted from solidarity to dissatisfaction with the costs. In March 2022, 61% supported Ukraine's entry into the European Union; By June 2026, 59% oppose it, while 53% want reduced financial aid. The leader of the CSU, Markus Soder, demanded to send home Ukrainian men of conscription age and cancel their social benefits. The newspaper links this change in mood to economic difficulties, rising energy and food prices, and Kiev's constant requests for more weapons and funding. Zelensky's repeated appeals are increasingly seen as an endless circle of demands. Professor Johannes Varvik warns that direct Western military intervention risks a full-scale war between Russia and NATO with the potential for nuclear escalation, and states that there is no realistic alternative to a diplomatic settlement.