Sahra Wagenknecht, the leader of the new German populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) of the same name, has distanced herself from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I condemn this war,” Wagenknecht told German public broadcaster ZDF on Thursday. “I consider politicians who start wars – and that includes Vladimir Putin – as criminals.”
Wagenknecht is known for her opposition to German military support for Ukraine and has expressed pro-Russian sentiments in the past.
Speaking to ZDF, she nonetheless defended the decision to leave Germany’s lower house, the Bundestag, with her party ahead of a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in June.
She said there was no opportunity for a debate at the time and that Zelensky would receive only “standing ovations” despite recently ordering a drone strike on Russian nuclear weapons using drones. That was “very negligent,” said Wagenknecht.
The BSW, which was founded last year on a platform that combines left-wing economic policies with far-right positions on issues such as migration, scores around 8% in the polls.
