A long road remains for any peace deal in Ukraine, despite weeks of furious diplomacy and optimistic predictions from President Trump. But in Germany, political leaders are already debating a crucial detail for any final agreement — whether the German Army will send troops to help keep the peace.
The debate, which has intensified in recent weeks, will help determine how much of a so-called security guarantee Europe alone could provide to Ukraine after the war concludes. It is important for Chancellor Friedrich Merz as he attempts to re-establish German leadership on the continent and around the world.
And, in many ways, it is the latest episode in Germany’s increasingly evolving relationship with national defense and military service, spurred on by Russian aggression and American detachment from Europe.
After successive governments allowed the military to atrophy with the end of the Cold War, Germany’s army is being rebuilt with record spending.
Polls show a majority of voters approve. But Germans remain largely reluctant to serve in their armed forces and are not flocking to their local recruitment offices. The country is so in need of soldiers that the defense ministry is expected to present a new plan to reinstate a watered-down version of a military draft, which is expected to pass a cabinet vote this week. (Under this proposal, 18-year-old men must complete a survey assessing their fitness to serve, and the military would try to convince those best suited to serve to enlist before going to a conscription option.)
That reticence around the deployment of and serving in the military is now being tested by the prospect of sending German troops to patrol what would effectively be a front line facing Russia in Ukraine, where Nazi soldiers committed atrocities in World War II.
Mr. Merz has hinted that he would be open to including German forces in a European security mission to Ukraine, something other European leaders seem to welcome. Many Germans — including some in Mr. Merz’s own party — are less enthusiastic.
A German security deployment to Ukraine “would likely overwhelm” the military, which already has troops stationed in Lithuania to guard against possible Russian aggression, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told Germany’s Table Today podcast this month.
Michael Kretschmer, the powerful governor of the eastern state of Saxony, who plays a powerful role in Mr. Merz’s Christian Democratic Party, told the news site Der Spiegel that the armed forces “lack the necessary resources” to guarantee Ukraine’s security.
Mr. Merz’s spokesmen have stressed that security guarantees could come in many forms, including air support and German training for Ukrainian troops. And the government has not ruled out German boots on the ground, unlike Mr. Trump and his officials, who have repeatedly said no American soldiers will be part of a postwar security force for Ukraine.
The ambiguity has fed critiques from the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which is the largest opposition party in Parliament — and which has strong ties to Russia.
“Merz will not rule out sending German soldiers to Ukraine. That would not be peacekeeping, but a permanent escalation against Russia. We are clear: we will not send you to Ukraine!” the party posted on its main X channel, together with an A.I.-generated picture of a scheming Mr. Merz that evoked Nazi propaganda.
Ukraine and Russia remain far apart on the details of any postwar security guarantee. Russia is insisting it be included in any such guarantee, which Ukraine sees as a non-starter. Ukraine wants guarantees from Europe and the United States.
The Trump administration has expressed openness to some security assistance, but not troops.
“The Europeans are going to have to take the lion’s share of the burden, it’s their continent, it’s their security,” Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Thursday, adding, “The president has been very clear that they are going to have to step up here.”
Discussions about European involvement in peacekeeping are not new, but have taken on a new urgency since the Alaska meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin on Aug. 15 stoked at least fleeting optimism for a peace deal.
President Emmanuel Macron of France first mentioned sending European troops to Ukraine early last year, earning a rebuke from Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor at the time, who went as far as filming a video from the chancellery promising Germans they would never have to fear being sent to Ukraine.
But after meeting with Mr. Trump and other European leaders last week in Washington, Mr. Merz hinted that German troops could possibly be involved. He said Germany’s role in security guarantees for Ukraine could require parliamentary approval, which would be the case only if he proposed sending German troops abroad.
Nico Lange, a security expert who was the chief of staff of a former defense minister, said such a step would fit with Mr. Merz’s vision of a more muscular Germany leading a more independent Europe.
“Merz deliberately is saying, based on political logic, that if something like this happens, Germany will of course participate,” Mr. Lange said.
Christopher F. Schuetze is a reporter for The Times based in Berlin, covering politics, society and culture in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Jim Tankersley is the Berlin bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
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