Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) accused AfD leader Alice Weidel of making a deliberate false statement about alleged German gas deliveries to Ukraine.
When asked by the “Bild” (Thursday edition) Wadephul replied, “We are not shipping German gas from our storage facilities to Ukraine, and gas in Germany is also not scarce”. He added that it was “shameless and brazen how Ms Weidel lies to the Germans here”.
At the same time he warned that the AfD is spreading “systematic pro‑Russian propaganda”. “We are resolutely supporting Ukraine in its fight for freedom against Russian aggression” the minister said.
Weidel had told reporters on Monday that “German gas storage tanks are almost empty, yet Mr Merz decided to divert the remaining gas to Ukraine”.
The German Federal Ministry of Economics also disputed the claim. “The federal government does not finance or coordinate gas deliveries to Ukraine, not even under the German‑Ukrainian energy partnership” a spokesperson explained. “The flows are simply normal commercial trade. The phrasing ‘Germany supplies’ is therefore misleading”.
According to the German Federal Network Agency, German gas storage facilities are presently filled to 20.67 %. Since mid‑September, storage levels have fallen below the daily averages recorded in 2018‑2021. The agency cautioned that supply conditions have changed over recent years. Germany now has various import avenues; gas volumes could be brought in via pipelines from Norway or by LNG terminals.
