DISINFO: Germany is party to Ukraine war
SUMMARY
A German-supplied Leopard tank with German soldiers has been destroyed in the east of Ukraine. One of the crew was interrogated and died one hour later. Germany supplies Ukraine with unmanned surface vehicles. It all means that Germany is a party to the Ukraine war.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets claiming that Russia is fighting Ukraine's allies from NATO rather than Ukraine itself. This claim was made in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In reality, there is no independent evidence of a German crew of a Leopard tank being captured. See our detailed debunk here. As for Germany's deliveries of unmanned surface vehicles, Ukraine has received them as part of assistance from its partners such as EU member states, the US and other G7 nations. These deliveries, as well as the fact some Ukrainian troops are being trained on German soil, do not mean that Germany is a party to the war in Ukraine. There are no German or NATO troops on the frontline in Ukraine. There are frequent contacts between NATO officials and their Ukrainian counterparts, but NATO is not involved in hostilities. The US, the EU and NATO condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is entirely unjustified and unprovoked.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Russia destroyed a Leopard tank crewed by German troops, that War in Ukraine is a US and NATO proxy war aimed at weakening Russia, and that NATO wages a proxy war against Russia.