BMany Wiesbaden residents are concerned about whether Ukrainian soldiers are being trained at the site of the Clay barracks in the Erbenheim district. After the “New York Times” reported this a few weeks ago, the waves were high. After doing their research, several media reported that the state capital was only intended to act as a coordination center for soldier training. However, there is no official information about what the US Army is planning: Wiesbaden politicians have not yet been informed.
This also applies to Mayor Gert-Uwe Mende (SPD). When asked on Monday, he said: “According to media reports, there is nothing to the rumors that Ukrainian soldiers are being trained in Wiesbaden. However, we can neither confirm nor deny these reports because we do not have our own findings.”
Rumors continue to circulate
Mende pointed out that a spokesman for the American armed forces had told Hessischer Rundfunk that no Ukrainian soldiers were being trained in Wiesbaden. But that’s not enough for the mayor. “After the rumors have been circulating around the world for a few weeks, we would have been pleased if we had received the relevant information from the official authorities,” he said.
Since this did not happen, at the end of last week Mende wrote to both the Federal Ministry of Defense in Berlin and the American armed forces, asking for official information about exactly what was planned in Erbenheim. “There is no answer yet,” said the mayor. What is certain is that a new formal command with around 300 soldiers will be stationed in the Clay barracks in order to pool forces to support the Ukrainian military (FAZ, October 4).
The question of whether and, if so, on which weapon systems Ukrainians are trained in Erbenheim has so far played no role in Wiesbaden city politics. There is silence, as SPD faction leader Hendrik Schmehl confirms. He would like a more offensive information policy from both the Americans and the Federal Ministry of Defense. He can understand that the population and social media are speculating about the question. Concrete information could help end this speculation, said Schmehl.
