Germany is planning almost €400 million ($445 million) in extra military aid for Ukraine this year despite a row over budgetary constraints, according to a finance ministry document seen by AFP Thursday.
Berlin has been the second-largest contributor of military aid to Ukraine after Washington and had already earmarked around €7.5 billion for Kyiv in 2024.
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However, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been facing domestic pressure over the issue, with parties opposed to Berlin’s support for Kyiv making major gains at key regional elections in early September.
The additional funds are needed to “fulfil the German government’s support commitments to the Ukrainian armed forces,” the letter to the parliamentary budget committee said.
Advances by Russian forces in Ukraine have led to “heavy material losses” on the battlefield and there is a “serious risk... that Ukraine will succumb in its defence struggle without a significant increase in support”, it said.
The letter asks for the funds to be made available to provide drones and air defence equipment, among other things, “without delay” so that they can “have an impact on the battlefield in Ukraine during the remainder of 2024.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky made a fresh appeal earlier this month for more weapons to counter the threat from advancing Russian forces in the east of the country and Moscow’s devastating missile strikes.
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Berlin plans to cut back its budget for Ukraine aid next year to around €4.4 billion as it looks to make savings demanded by liberal Finance Minister Christian Lindner, according to draft budget documents.
However, the government has insisted it is “fully committed” to supporting Ukraine “for as long as necessary.”
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