Germany to slash military aid to Ukraine amid budget cuts

Germany must reduce military aid to Ukraine. No new funds for this purpose are available in the current and future budgets. The reason is spending cuts the chancellor's office and the Ministry of Finance ordered.

According to information from the "FAZ" daily portal, Germany must cut its military aid to Ukraine. No additional funds have been allocated in the budget for this year and the next. This decision stems from spending cuts imposed by the chancellor's office and the Ministry of Finance.

"Most of the previously approved equipment will be delivered, but new requests from the Ministry of Defence, following the recommendation of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, will be rejected," wrote Peter Carstens and Konrad Schuller in an article published on Saturday on the website of the newspaper "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung".

The authors mention a letter from Minister of Finance Christian Lindner, sent on 5 August to Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius.

Restrictions are already in place. Next year, the situation for Ukraine will be even more complicated, as planned military aid is to be reduced by almost half, and in 2027, it will drop below one-tenth of the current amount, according to "FAZ".

The content of Lindner's letter suggests that the Ministry of Finance does not intend to stop aid to Ukraine abruptly. However, the funds are not to come from the German budget but from the frozen assets of Russian banks. The authors recall that Russian assets are estimated at $300 (€271) billion. As agreed by the G7 countries, interest on this amount is to finance a $50 (€45) billion loan for Ukraine.

Journalists from "FAZ" assess that using Russian funds is "uncertain and legally controversial". "It is more than doubtful whether Russian money will be able to be used in the future," emphasise Carstens and Schuller.

The effects of the ban on new expenditures are already visible. Diehl Defence had offered Ukraine the IRIS-T air defence system, but funds were not found to finance its purchase.

The editorial explains that all funds (about €8 billion) allocated for military aid to Ukraine this year have already been distributed, and the budget for next year (€4.1 billion) has already been exhausted.

The authors conclude that no new expenditures are possible. Only £3 billion is planned for 2026, and for 2027 and 2028, merely €516 million each.

This is the end. The coffers are empty – an anonymous government official is quoted by "FAZ".

As "FAZ" writes, critical voices are emerging in the ruling coalition and in the opposition CDU and CSU about the government's decision. CDU politician Ingo Gädechens accused the chancellor of "hypocrisy". Scholz assures Ukraine of military support while simultaneously wanting to be the "chancellor of peace".

SPD deputy Andreas Schwarz points out that the restriction of German aid puts Ukraine in a difficult situation. Russian President Vladimir Putin might see this as a signal of withdrawing German support, which could complicate a diplomatic resolution of the conflict. "If Ukraine loses the war, up to 15 million refugees may leave the country. How many of them will come to Germany?" Schwarz asks.