Frohnmaier criticises Merz over support for Ukraine
The AfD parliamentary deputy leader contrasted aid to Kyiv with domestic spending. The chancellor had earlier reaffirmed support for Ukraine ahead of winter.
Markus Frohnmaier, deputy leader and foreign policy spokesman of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) parliamentary group in the Bundestag, criticised Chancellor Friedrich Merz on 5 November 2026 over his position on funding Ukraine. In a post on X, he contrasted support for Kyiv with spending on care and health insurance within Germany.
“How crazy is that?” Frohnmaier wrote. In his account, Merz said he expected a majority of Germans to understand that funding Ukraine on an ongoing basis was in Germany’s interest. The AfD politician described this as giving money away abroad amid domestic cuts. This is his political assessment, not an established link between aid to Ukraine and changes in social spending.
Merz himself reaffirmed continued support for Ukraine on 3 November through the chancellor’s official X account. Addressing Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he said Ukraine could firmly rely on Germany as it approached its fifth wartime winter, and announced increased winter assistance. In another post that day, the chancellor set out a course towards peace for Ukraine and security in Europe.
Frohnmaier has used this argument against aid to Kyiv before. In a statement dated 5 October, published on the AfD parliamentary group’s website, he contrasted support for Ukraine with spending on healthcare, care, infrastructure and municipalities in Germany. In the same statement, he advocated diplomatic initiatives to end the war.
Primary sources
Documents and statements this story is based on.