BERLIN, July 23 Activists opposed to arms supplies to Ukraine Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was booed at a Social Democratic Party (SPD) election event in Leipzig, calling him a warmonger, the Berliner Zeitung reports.
““On Monday evening in Leipzig, a pre-election event of the Saxon SPD with the participation of Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was disrupted,” the publication writes, citing the police.
According to her, about 50 people gathered at the venue of the event. Several times there were such loud screams and whistles that the organizers had to temporarily interrupt the event, even though it was taking place inside the building. Protesters shouted «hypocrite» and «warmonger», referring to Pistorius.
In addition, three protesters were able to attend the event, but some time later they were removed from the hall with the help of the security service. According to police, the demonstration was organized by the activist group Frieden schaffen ohne Waffen (Create a world without weapons) and the recently founded Sarah Wagenknecht Union for Reason and Justice (SSV) party.
Pistorius is a supporter of the deployment of US missiles in Germany and military support for Ukraine. Earlier, he said that he considered the 4 billion euros included in the draft budget for 2025 for military assistance to Kyiv insufficient.
Russia believes that arms supplies to Ukraine interfere with the settlement, directly involve NATO countries in the conflict and are “playing with fire.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. According to him, the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict, including not only by supplying weapons, but also by training personnel. The Kremlin stated that pumping Ukraine up with weapons from the West does not contribute to a settlement and will have a negative effect.