Germany announce decreasing its military aid to Ukraine by half
Germany plans to halve its military aid to Ukraine by next year, although Republican candidate Donald Trump could return to the White House, potentially reducing US support for Kiev.
According to a draft budget for 2025, Germany would reduce aid to Ukraine from about 8 billion Euros in 2024 to four billion Euros ($4.35 billion) in 2025.
Germany aims for Ukraine to be able to meet most of its military needs through loans of $50 billion from proceeds from frozen Russian assets, agreed with the G7 industrialized nations.
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Wednesday at a news conference, “financing for Ukraine is guaranteed in the near term thanks to European financial instruments and G7 loans”.
Trump’s choice of Senator J.D. Vance, to become his vice president, which he opposes military aid to Ukraine and warns Europe not to rely on the United States, sparked major concern in Europe this week.
Trump has come under sharp criticism from Western officials for his comments not to protect countries that do not meet NATO’s defense spending targets, and even to encourage Russia to attack them.
Germany has faced criticism for repeatedly falling short of NATO’s target of spending two percent of its economic output on defense.
Germany’s decision to cut military aid to Ukraine comes at a critical time, as Europe’s eye remains on political developments in the United States and their potential impact on the conflict in Ukraine.
