German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius did not say that Ukraine is not an ally of Germany. In an interview with the German TV channel ZDF, he only emphasized that Ukraine is not a NATO partner of Germany and therefore the format of providing it with military aid is different than if the «united West» were directly at war with Russia.
Netizens and Russian websites spread information that German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius allegedly refused to consider Ukraine an ally. According to Russian media, the German defense minister said this in an interview with the German TV channel ZDF. «Answering the question whether the «collective West» is unable to «fight back» (against Russia – editor’s note), the minister said: ‘First of all, we are not an ally of Ukraine, which means that we are not bound to intervene within the framework of the alliance or any agreement’,» the Russian Spring website reported.
In fact, Boris Pistorius did not say in his speech on ZDF that Germany is not an ally of Kyiv. The German defense minister did give an interview to the German public television channel ZDF in early December. The central topic of the broadcast was the issue of providing arms to Ukraine and, in particular, whether Germany was supplying enough weapons. Pistorius emphasized that Germany is the second largest arms supplier to Ukraine and «supplies an insane amount,» particularly air defense systems.
When asked by the journalist why, if Germany supplies «an insane amount» and all other members of the «united West» are also doing their best in this regard, Russian aggression is still by no means completely stopped, Pistorius replies:
«First of all, we are not allied with Ukraine in the same alliance – in other words, we are outside the alliance. And secondly, we are talking about Russia, which despite the sanctions, continues to produce (military equipment – ed.), even if it is not ultra-modern material. But the situation is not such that only we provide weapons, and nothing new for Russian troops comes from Russia. This is the course of war and it is difficult to predict» (in the video from 1:12-1:33).
Thus the German word Bündnispartner, which the defense minister used, sounds like «allies» in Google translator. However, it actually means «partners in the same alliance» (Bündnis – alliance, Partner – partners). In this case, NATO is meant. In fact, responding to the presenter’s question, Pistorius emphasized that Ukraine is not a NATO partner and that is why cooperation in the sphere of military supplies takes place in other formats than if the «united West» were directly at war with Russia. In addition, Boris Pistorius noted that it is very important not to stop supporting Ukraine, as well as to ensure the sustainability and continuity of military production.
Consequently, Russian propaganda has once again attempted to promote one of its main narratives that Western allies have allegedly turned their backs and betrayed Ukraine, leaving it alone. StopFake has repeatedly refuted such fakes – Fake: Ukrainian Refugees in Dresden are Given Canned Cockroaches, Fake: Zelenskyy Admitted That Ukraine is Supported by “at Best 14 Countries”, Fake: Poland to Cease Payments to Ukrainian Refugees Since 2024.
