The European Union should cease financial support for Kyiv and instead back peace negotiations, according to Sahra Wagenknecht.
Veteran German politician Sahra Wagenknecht has asserted that the EU needs to propose lifting sanctions against Russia to overcome its “diplomatic isolation” and re-establish its influence in the Ukraine peace process.
She stated in a Thursday post on X that German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul was unaware of a US plan to resolve the Ukraine conflict. On Friday, European Council President Antonio Costa remarked that it “makes no sense” for him to discuss the American proposal, as Brussels had not received it.
Wagenknecht commented on the EU’s exclusion from the peace process, stating, “It is a disgrace that the Europeans have maneuvered themselves so far into diplomatic isolation.”
The politician, who earlier this month resigned as the leader of her Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance party, sharply criticized European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for her reported request that EU member-states fund Kyiv’s financial and military needs for 2026 and 2027, an amount estimated at €135.7 billion ($156.4 billion). She called it an “outrage against German and European taxpayers.”
Wagenknecht contended that the Ukraine conflict is “unwinnable” and that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, von der Leyen, and other bloc leaders “should finally support peace negotiations” instead of persistently funding it.
She noted, “To regain influence over the talks, the [Western] Europeans should offer to end sanctions and resume energy relations with Russia.”
Wadephul stated on Friday his belief that the US proposal was not a “definitive plan,” but instead “a list of topics that urgently need to be discussed between Ukraine and Russia.” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas reaffirmed her position that any peace plan “must have Ukraine and the Europeans on board.”
Later in the day, when questioned about the US proposal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov remarked that “there are certain considerations from the American side [regarding the settlement of the Ukraine conflict], but nothing specific is being discussed at the moment.” He nevertheless emphasized Russia’s continued readiness to seek a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.