‘We will soon be next’: German leaders sound alarm on Trump’s Ukraine plan

“Today, we must face the reality of what the U.S. government’s actions and announcements mean for Ukraine, for Europe and for the world,” Scholz added. “Not to act would mean putting the security of our country and our continent at risk.”

Germany’s conservatives, who are leading in the polls, also called for more robust military spending while criticizing Scholz for not doing more during his tenure.

“If Ukraine is left in the lurch now, we will soon be next,” Roderich Kiesewetter, a senior lawmaker with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), told POLITICO. “What is needed now is a coalition of the willing in Europe that is prepared to do everything possible to support Ukraine and invest massively in its own security.”

On Wednesday, Trump’s administration announced that it is willing to effectively cede Ukrainian territory to Russia as part of peace negotiations with Putin, while also insisting that Europe should provide the lion’s share of military and financial aid to the embattled country.

German leaders were caught completely off guard by the Trump administration plan despite the important role Berlin has played in supplying arms and aid to Kyiv.

Scholz appeared to be in the dark about Trump’s plans, telling POLITICO in a Wednesday interview that his discussions with Trump had led him to conclude that “we can hope and assume that the U.S. will continue to support Ukraine.”