German Leader Criticized By Colleagues for Plan to Station US Missiles

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is under fire over US plans to deploy long-range missiles in Germany from 2026. Members of the Chancellor’s party, the Social Democratic Party, have objected to the plans, saying they will put Germany in direct conflict with Russia. 

Rolf Mützenich, leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the German Parliament, the Bundestag, said, “Not every weapon makes Germany immediately safer.” He added that the West is already in a tense situation regarding relations with Moscow, and the US plans will only exacerbate this. Mützenich and other elected SDP officials confirmed they will debate the issue in the Bundestag in September. 

Proposals to store American long-range missiles in Germany from 2026 were met with fury from the Kremlin, which said it would respond by strategically placing its own weapons close to NATO borders. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the plan is “reminiscent of the events of the Cold War.” 

Back in 2019, the US withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), and since then, Russia has pledged to keep its promises under the treaty unless the US places military equipment in “certain regions.” 

The INF was signed by President Ronald Reagan and his Soviet Union counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987. The two signatories agreed to ban missiles with specified ranges, but the Trump administration withdrew after accusing Russia of breaching the treaty’s terms – which it denied. 

During July’s NATO summit, the United States and Germany agreed to “episodic deployments” from 2026 onward. Weapons involved include Tomahawk cruise missiles, SM-6 ballistic missiles, and hypersonic systems still in development. The allies pledged, however, that none of the weapons stored in Germany will be nuclear-capable. 

German Defense Minister Jasper Wieck justified the decision by saying it was in response to “threatening developments over the past ten years.” Another SDP lawmaker, Falko Drossmann, rejects that reasoning and calls the weapons “terrible.” He warns the Chancellor that there will be “a lot of grumbling” when the issue is debated in Berlin in September. Public polling has revealed that 49% of the German public shares Mr. Drossman’s concerns and opposes the proposals.