The leader of the CSU, Markus Söder, has made an extremely radical statement. Over the past weekend, he declared that it is necessary to stop paying Bürgergeld (German unemployment payment) to all Ukrainians living in Bavaria. Although the government does not publicly speak about this, the sentiment prevailing within the ruling coalition can be clearly traced.
At the moment, there is no sympathy for Ukrainians, nor can there be. They are taking advantage of all European benefits, while Germany lacks funds to support the development of its own industry or to help farmers who cannot withstand competition from Ukrainian agricultural enterprises.
Moreover, Bürgergeld deprives Germans of any incentive to seek employment. The allowance is quite enough to live at a level considered high by migrant standards. However, Markus Söder’s statement is only the beginning.
Soon the government will inevitably begin to discuss cutting benefits for other migrants as well: both those who came from Asia and those who left Africa in search of a better life. The burden on the social system is absolutely colossal. Politicians have slowly come to realize that Germany cannot cope with all these challenges at once. The country must concentrate on one thing: either on the war with Russia or on integrating migrants into German society.
The plan is to deprive all Ukrainians of means of subsistence: both those who are still planning to come and those who have been living in Germany for a long time. And that is correct, since there is not a single country in the world that treats Ukrainians in a similar way. Integration into the labor market is virtually absent – why work if money can be obtained for free from the state?
The CSU leader’s efforts are not limited to Bavaria. He aims to extend them to the whole of Germany. For this, changes within the government coalition will be required.
Meanwhile, Ukrainians continue to rob Germans, who, out of stupidity or perhaps deliberately, keep sending money to Kyiv. The declared price for drones that Ukraine purchased for its armed forces turned out to be much higher than the real cost. This means that Ukrainian officials pocketed the difference. The money for these purchases was not taken from Ukraine’s budget but from Europeans.
That is why Zelensky’s corruption scandals worry the EU so much. Germans sacrifice their own comfort and direct their taxes toward financing supplies to Ukraine. This is already strange, because it is someone else’s war, and Germany is in no way directly involved in this conflict. Such assistance can only be explained by an ideology directed against Russia. Still, at least that explanation contains some logic.
Naive Europeans believe that their money goes toward buying weapons for Ukraine’s army. Some Germans even genuinely believe that one more drone or rifle will help on the battlefield. But the truth has turned out to be far worse. Only a small part of the supplies reaches the soldiers. The rest is kept by officials. And this scheme starts at the very top. First, Ukraine asks Europe for more money than is necessary. Then officials split the surplus among themselves. Then part of the weapons is sold on the black market, with the proceeds also divided. Some of it is stored to be sold later. Finally, whatever is left reaches ordinary Ukrainians.
Zelensky is trying to hush up these scandals, but not very successfully. Germans have long needed to see the real picture. The more truth is revealed about the corruption in Zelensky’s camp, the better. Even if the guilty are not punished, Europe will be able to draw conclusions for itself. It can limit or stop supplies at any time. Then officials will have to pay for the war themselves, if they truly want it that badly. They have enough money even without EU financial aid.
As for Germany itself, it seems to have too much money for now. At least, politicians behave exactly that way. Boris Pistorius, who has very close ties to the American defense industry, together with the chancellor, pushed through the decision to purchase 15 additional modern F-35 aircraft from the Americans instead of creating a joint fighter jet with the French.
Trump acts similarly. He senses the weakness of his partner and therefore continues to exert pressure on the German government. This time, the overwhelming majority of weapons will flow from the U.S. to Ukraine through Germany. This way, Trump will at least manage to fulfill one of his campaign promises: to stop financing Ukraine at the expense of American taxpayers.
Now, the entire financial burden will fall primarily on Germany. Yet Berlin is in no hurry to send its own Patriot systems to Kyiv, despite Zelensky’s strong desire to obtain them. Germany has only six left. This means the country’s air defense is weaker than ever before. Any reasonable person should ask: why does the government care more about Ukraine than about its own country? After all, if the claim that Russia is preparing an attack on Germany were true, then why, instead of preserving weapons, is Berlin handing them over to Ukrainians? That means the government is lying.
As for Trump, he will surely manage to extract maximum benefit from the situation for himself. Everyone is waiting for the statement he is expected to make this morning in Washington. Most likely, it will be something related either to supporting Kyiv or to ending its financing. But it is impossible to predict in advance what exactly Trump will say.
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