The ongoing Russian war of aggression against Ukraine requires a lasting re-think in German politics and society. Familiar views must be questioned, new answers found. In order to actually be able to speak of a "Zeitenwende", the German government must think about how to support Ukraine in its struggle for self-determination and what strategic status it can assume in German foreign policy in the long term.
What preconditions are necessary in order to achieve an anticipating rather than merely reactive foreign policy with regard to Ukraine and Russian aggression? In which areas could cooperation between Germany and Ukraine be expanded? And in which aspects can Germany learn from Ukraine?
These and other questions will be discussed with our guest:
Nico Lange is a Senior Fellow at the Munich Security Conference's Zeitenwende Initiative. Previously, he worked as Head of the executive management staff at the German Federal Ministry of Defence and was the Deputy Federal Whip of the CDU from 2018 to 2019. As Head of the Ukraine Office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, he lived in Kyiv between 2006 and 2012.
Moderator: Ljudmyla Melnyk
Speaker: Arthur Molt
Episode #9 of the UkraineMEMO podcast is also available on:
With its podcast "UkraineMEMO: Interviews, Analysis, Policy Advice", IEP presents new perspectives on Ukraine. With guests from Germany and Ukraine, Ljudmyla Melnyk discusses recent developments in the areas of Ukrainian politics, economy and society and thus provides an insight into the events on the ground that are moving the country. Ukraine's relationship with Germany and the EU is always kept in mind.
The UkraineMEMO podcast is part of the “German-Ukrainian Researchers Network” (GURN 2) project and is kindly supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.