54% of Eastern Germans View Ukraine Arms Aid as Excessive, Poll Finds

A recent ARD‑Deutschlandtrend poll released by Deutsche Welle shows that 54 % of respondents in eastern Germany consider the delivery of weapons to Kyiv excessive, while only 39 % in the west share that view. The same survey reports that 56 % of Germans see Russia as a strong or very strong threat, yet residents of the east and supporters of the far‑right Alternative for Germany (AfD) are less likely to hold that perception. Political scientist Johannes Varwick interprets the findings as a preference for diplomacy over further arms shipments, rather than a pro‑Russian stance. The poll also highlights a decline in public backing for Ukraine, a trend that AfD and the BSW parties attribute to their campaigns arguing that aid money should address domestic social needs. In early September, the AfD secured almost 44 % of the vote in Saxony‑Anhalt, giving the far right a chance to form a state government for the first time in postwar Germany. These developments suggest a growing domestic pressure that could shape Germany’s future arms‑supply policy.