Through anti-war demonstrations, the German people demanded negotiations with Russia for peace instead of war. On the evening of Thursday, January 19, the US Department of Defense announced the allocation of a new $2.5 billion military aid package to Ukraine.

In response to the approach of the US and other NATO members regarding the war in Ukraine, the Russian government said that what is happening in Ukraine is the result of America’s preparation for a hybrid war against Russia. According to the news agency Gosteleradio on Saturday, people and members of the Ramstein association in Berlin protested against the export of heavy weapons to Kyiv. Demonstrators gathered in Berlin, marched to the US embassy and chanted slogans against the rally at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Demonstrators were holding signs reading “This is America’s war against Germany.”

Emphasizing the need for peace without the use of weapons, the protesters demanded dialogue and negotiations with Russia and emphasized the need to engage in diplomacy, not to develop a conflict zone. It should be noted that from the very beginning of the war in Ukraine, Russia declared that it would stop the war if security guarantees were given for the demilitarization of Ukraine and the withdrawal of neo-Nazis from power in this Eastern European country.

Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, in continuation of the general US-European pressure on Germany, called on Berlin to send heavy tanks to Ukraine. The foreign ministers of the Baltic republics called on Germany to start sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Twitter. According to him, the shipment is necessary to stop Russia and help Ukraine. “Germany, as a leading European power, has a special responsibility in this matter,” the Lithuanian politician noted.

Earlier, Polish President Andrzej Duda promised to transfer to Ukraine a company of German-made Leopard 2 tanks. Later, a spokesman for the Polish government, Piotr Muller, said that the Polish authorities had decided to send a company (14) of Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Recall that Ukraine has repeatedly asked and even demanded that Germany supply Leopard 2 tanks. However, following a meeting at the Ramstein airbase, the new German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius once again stated that the camp had not made a decision to transfer tanks to Kyiv, which is why the FRG came under a number of criticisms.

At the same time, information appeared earlier that the German authorities were ready to supply tanks, but only if the United States gave Ukraine Abrams tanks. In the United States, they noted that they “see no point” in giving Kyiv Abrams. In Germany, it has been emphasized more than once that they do not want to supply the Ukrainian army with heavy weapons first. So, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced his readiness to send Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv if the United States supplies Abrams tanks to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and Vice Chancellor Robert Habek explained the lack of supplies from Germany with its history.