LONDON - As the war in Ukraine continues, another battle - bloodless, yet often just as consequential - is unfolding in Germany, where politicians in Europe's biggest economy and most populous nation now accuse one another of responsibility for failing to deter the Russian invasion.

This is not just an academic debate over what could have been done to avert the biggest security crisis in Europe since World War II. For the way the current German political confrontation is handled will have profound implications on the kind of support war-torn Ukraine can expect from Europe after the guns fall silent.