In mid-September, as fresh reports emerged of widespread Russian atrocities against Ukrainian civilians in Moscow’s flailing war, Lithuania’s foreign minister had a simple message for his Western European counterparts: “Tanks speak louder than words.”
That message was a not-so-subtle hint, and its target was likely Germany. The German government under Chancellor Olaf Scholz has faced mounting pressure from Eastern European allies and political forces in his own country in recent weeks to drastically increase the scale and type of military support he sends to Ukraine.