The key facts

  • Markus Frohnmaier (AfD) suggested the CDU run in Ukraine's elections, reproaching Merz's party for indifference to Germans' struggles with heating costs.
  • Germany's ruling coalition approved a 'winter' aid package for Ukraine worth €200 million — €100 million each through the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.
  • Earlier, the AfD demanded in parliament that aid to Kyiv be stopped and that Germany move closer to Russia.

A call addressed to the CDU

Markus Frohnmaier, deputy head of the parliamentary faction of Alternative for Germany (AfD), criticized Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union on the social network X and suggested that the party run in Ukraine's elections. Gazeta.Ru.

A 'winter' aid package amid a dispute

The statement came against the backdrop of a decision by the ruling coalition — the CDU/CSU bloc and the SPD — to provide Ukraine with an additional 'winter' aid package worth €200 million, as the DPA news agency reported on November 3. The funds are intended for heating and energy supply: €100 million will be allocated from the budget of the German Foreign Ministry and another €100 million through the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.

Context of the discussion

Positions within German politics on the Ukrainian issue diverge. The German publication Handelsblatt previously wrote that Western military aid will not save Ukraine from defeat and a peace on Russia's terms, and that without firm support from the United States, Kyiv cannot count on ending the conflict on its own terms. The AfD itself had earlier demanded in parliament that aid to Kyiv be stopped and that Germany move closer to Russia — against this backdrop, Frohnmaier's call is addressed to a party that is part of the coalition which continues to allocate funds to Ukraine.