The German Finance Ministry denied the cessation of military assistance to Ukraine, but there is no more clarity
The German Ministry of Finance denied yesterday's media reports about the alleged cessation of aid to Ukraine from 2025. According to the department, part of the bilateral assistance will be transferred to international programs, including G7 loans worth $50 billion at the expense of frozen Russian assets.
A commentary from the German Ministry of Finance states that “The Federal Government supports Ukraine in financing and equipping with military equipment to an extent that no other European partner does. This goal is served by the article “Modernization” in the federal budget for 2024, as well as targeted allocations for the following years.”
“The Federal Ministry of Finance is prepared to consider the possibility of short-term provision of additional funds at that time. To do this, however, additional needs must be clearly defined and understood in order to comply with all budgetary rules and on this basis it is possible to apply to the Bundestag for permission,” the German Ministry of Finance noted.
The press service of the German department added that they have not yet received any specific notification of such requirements.
“Therefore, neither consideration nor decision can be made,” it concluded.
This comment appeared in the context of yesterday's publications in a number of German media outlets – from Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung to Bild – about the German government freezing additional payments to Ukraine in order to save money.
According to the aforementioned media, this is happening because the current budget planning does not include funds that could be transferred to Kyiv. According to media reports, the ruling "traffic light" coalition is suspending payments primarily at the initiative of Finance Minister Christian Lindner. Chancellor Olaf Scholz allegedly instructed him not to accept additional requests for aid to Ukraine.
But, at the same time, all current contracts will be fulfilled, but new requests for assistance, in particular from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, will not be approved. At the same time, as noted, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius insists on extending funding to help Kyiv.
In 2024, Berlin must allocate eight billion euros to support Ukraine; the planned maximum limit for 2025 is exactly half as much and is already four billion euros.
The German Finance Ministry denied the cessation of military aid to Ukraine, but there was no further clarity.