No more extra money for Ukraine? After expressions of discontent, including from within its own ranks, the German government is rejecting such reports.
The German government is defending itself against claims that Germany will limit its support for Ukraine because of tight budgets. “Germany remains absolutely committed, and the Chancellor’s word still stands that support for Ukraine will continue as long as it is necessary, and that no one, especially not the Russian President, can hope that we will let up on this,” said deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner in Berlin.
Previously, several politicians had criticized the coalition’s further approach to financing aid to Ukraine. In a letter to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), Finance Minister Christian Lindner wrote that “new measures” should only be taken if “funding is secured” in the budget plans for this and the coming years. The FDP politician also warned: “Please ensure that the upper limits are adhered to.”
The letter has been made available to the German Press Agency and the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”. However, according to reports, the Finance Ministry stated on Saturday that it was still willing to talk. However, needs must be reported specifically and be comprehensible – so far no report of needs has been received.
Berlin relies on Ukraine financing through Russian assets
In principle, the German government is counting on Ukraine aid to be financed more from a new international pot with a volume of 50 billion euros – and no longer from the federal budget. As recently agreed by the G7 group of states, interest income from frozen Russian assets is to be used. However, this aid has not yet been finally put in place internationally.
The letter from Finance Minister Lindner was met with criticism: “It is a fatal signal from the federal government to Ukraine if no further funds for new military aid are planned in the future federal budgets,” warned the chairman of the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee, the Social Democrat Michael Roth, in the newspapers of the Funke media group.
Bodycam recordings
This is how Russian soldiers see the war in Kursk
What Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Roth criticizes
Roth is a prominent advocate of strong military aid for Ukraine, which has supported the defensive fight against aggressor Russia with a surprise advance into Russian border areas. “The Ukrainian army is on the offensive for the first time in months, and the country now needs the full support of its most important military ally in Europe, Germany. Instead, the debate about the future financing of military aid seems like a disguised retreat from responsibility by Germany,” criticized Roth. “We cannot make our security dependent on budgetary constraints.” The 50 billion dollars from the G7 fund, which is also to be filled from Russian assets, is “far from enough.”
Where the Union raises questions
The Union’s parliamentary secretary in the Bundestag, Thorsten Frei (CDU), also questioned the strategy of relying on these funds. “Nobody knows if, when and how much money might actually be available here. No one in the federal government knows when the international negotiations on this can be concluded either. This is another chapter in the story of ‘camouflage, deception, trickery’,” Frei told the Funke newspapers.
“Russia will soon have more missiles – and will use them more intensively”
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What suspicions the Union harbors
CDU foreign and defense policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter argued that the interest would go to Ukraine anyway. This “de facto means that Ukraine is being left in the lurch,” he told the “Tagesspiegel”. He accused Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) of eyeing the September elections in East Germany, where aid to Ukraine is widely rejected. “This is not how a self-proclaimed leading nation in Europe acts.”
CDU European politician Christoph Ploß explained that it was also about defending Western values. “If the federal government now acts hesitantly and opportunistically, not only we, but also our children and grandchildren will have to pay dearly for it,” he told “Spiegel”.
What Germany provides to Ukraine
Büchner now stressed that the determination to support Ukraine, which is being attacked by Russia, has not changed. Four Iris-T air defense systems are to be delivered this year, as well as ten Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, 16 self-propelled howitzers, 10 Leopard battle tanks, combat drones and several thousand rounds of artillery and tank ammunition.
This year, Germany is providing almost 7.5 billion euros for military support to Ukraine, and the government is planning to provide four billion euros for 2025. However, the funds can still be increased in the Bundestag, as was done for 2024.
Note: This post has been updated.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
