German defense minister requests additional funds for Ukraine from federal budget
Photo: CNN
Approximately €7 billion allocated to support Kyiv in the current German federal budget is mostly spent or tied to contracts. Currently, a little less than €200 million remains for new deliveries for the second half of 2024.
Rubryka reports this with reference to Spiegel.
Therefore, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius requested additional funding from Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
According to the media outlet, Pistorius has already unofficially informed Lindner that the aid package to Ukraine in armaments should be increased by another €4 billion in the second half of 2024.
Support is planned in the so-called Situation Center Ukraine under the leadership of Major General Christian Freding. Its experts consider it necessary to maintain permanent aid to Ukraine with weapons until the end of 2024.
According to Spiegel, Pistorius wants to use the new money to deliver to Ukraine this year:
- more ammunition,
- urgently needed spare parts,
- possibly more Leopard 1A tanks.
Finance Minister Lindner, however, urged the federal government to save money. Excessive spending, such as an additional four billion for Ukraine, will probably be uncomfortable for him.
However, the media outlet writes that the Ministry of Defense considers the supply of ammunition and spare parts necessary for Ukraine to continue to defend itself against Russia.
It should be noted that earlier Pistorius did not want to go into the details of internal discussions with Lindner. Ukrainian funds for 2024 are "largely spent and reserved," he said when asked about it. He only indirectly confirmed the conversations with Lindner about the new funds.
"We are currently working on raising additional funds to continue our work this year," the minister said.
As Spiegel points out, the scramble for money for further arms packages comes at an inappropriate time for the federal government. At the NATO summit in Washington on July 9, Berlin wants to declare itself as a staunch supporter of Ukraine.
Pistorius is not the only one who has repeatedly said in recent weeks that Germany is now the second-largest arms financier after the US. However, the deliveries from Germany, which have already begun, will likely end in the fall at the latest without new money.
It should be noted that the Ministry of Defense has set aside a record €15 billion for assistance to Ukraine in 2025.
What is known about military aid from Germany?
Within the Security Capacity Building Initiative Fund framework, Germany allocated approximately €7.1 billion for military aid to Ukraine in 2024 alone. This includes Berlin's contributions to the European Peace Fund (EPF).
As of the end of May, the German government reported on allocations for military aid to Ukraine in the amount of:
- €5 billion in 2023,
- around €1.6 billion in 2022.
An additional approximately €2.9 billion has been earmarked in the first two years of the war, which will not arrive until 2025-2028.
Germany has already delivered approximately €5.2 billion worth of equipment from its armed forces stockpile (estimated cost to replace transferred equipment).
Also, more than 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers underwent military training in Germany, which cost approximately €282 million.
It was also reported that Germany, taking into account the third Patriot air defense system (APD), which will soon be delivered, will transfer to Ukraine a quarter of its own stock of these anti-aircraft missile systems.
On July 8, Germany announced a new military aid package to Ukraine.
