German opposition leader Friedrich Merz has criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's statements about Ukraine, calling them "shocking" and aligned with Russian narratives, the German TV news program Tagesschau reported on Feb. 21.
"This is the Russian narrative; this is how Putin has presented it for years, and I'm frankly shocked that Donald Trump has now apparently embraced it himself," Merz, the leading candidate for chancellor in the upcoming Feb. 23 parliamentary election, said.
Trump has made multiple false claims about Ukraine in recent days, including calling President Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" and accusing him of refusing to hold elections.
His remarks ignore the fact that Ukraine's constitution prohibits elections under martial law, which has been in effect since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022.
On Feb. 18, Trump appeared to place responsibility for the ongoing war on President Volodymyr Zelensky's wartime leadership. Merz described Trump's comments as "a classic substitution of the criminal for the victim."
The criticism comes as tensions between Kyiv and Washington escalate following U.S.-Russia talks in Riyadh on Feb. 18. Neither Ukraine nor Europe were represented at the talks.
Merz stressed that Europe must not passively seek a seat at the negotiations but rather assert its influence through diplomatic efforts. "We have to agree on a common strategy very, very quickly," he said.
As the chancellor candidate for Germany's conservative CDU/CSU alliance in the upcoming Feb. 23 elections, Merz has been a vocal critic of incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Ukraine policy.
He has repeatedly urged the government to provide Kyiv with long-range Taurus missiles and accused Scholz of being too hesitant in supporting Ukraine.
Recent polls indicate the CDU/CSU is leading ahead of the elections, which were called after Scholz's ruling coalition lost its parliamentary majority due to the departure of the Free Democratic Party (FDP).
Martin Fornusek
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