The cold war with Putin is more dangerous than the cold war with the Soviet Union

Aggressive war is a terrible word, but not terrible enough to describe the terror that Russian troops are unleashing in Ukraine at the behest of Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin: Rocket launchers set fire to hospitals, cluster bombs fall on residential areas, and at times Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is standing still Under fire. The ruthlessness with which Russia’s invading army is trying to compensate for their setbacks leaves speechless. It fuels anger and nurtures the desire to intervene.

Friedrich Merz was probably guided by these emotions when he thought aloud about an intervention on Friday. There could be a “situation” in which “NATO must also make decisions to stop Putin,” said the CDU leader. A sentence that raises doubts as to whether Merz is up to his responsibility as leader of the opposition.

As bitter as it sounds given the suffering of the Ukrainians, Putin has the ultimate veto tool at his disposal – nuclear weapons. Considerations for a direct intervention by the West have thus come to an end.