Germany plans to cut military aid to Ukraine in half next year, despite fears that US support for Kiev could potentially decrease if Republican candidate Donald Trump returns to the White House.
German aid to Ukraine will be cut to 4 billion euros in 2025 from around 8 billion euros in 2024, according to a draft budget for next year seen by Reuters. Germany, as reported by the British agency, hopes that Ukraine will be able to meet most of its military needs with a $50 billion loan from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets, approved by the Group of Seven (G7), and that the funds intended for armaments will not be in fully used.
The decision to reduce aid to Ukraine solves the mystery surrounding the German coalition's unexpected budget agreement after an all-night negotiation session two weeks ago, Politiko writes. The portal reminds that then Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Vice Chancellor Robert Habek offered only meager explanations about how they managed to bridge the significant financial gap that threatened to collapse their ruling coalition.
The three partners have been at odds over how to finance increases in social programs and climate initiatives without breaking German borrowing rules. The fact that they waited until the last day of regular business before much of political Berlin goes on summer vacation indicates that they are aware of the political sensitivity of the move, which is likely to provoke a strong reaction in Kiev.
"Ukraine's finances are secured for the foreseeable future thanks to European instruments and G7 loans," Lindner said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Washington insisted that the loans be "given in advance" so that Ukraine would receive a large sum of money immediately.
Officials told Reuters that EU leaders agreed to the idea because it reduces the chances of Ukraine running out of funds if Trump returns to the White House.
So far, Berlin has donated three Patriot air defense systems to Kiev, more than any other country, bringing the number of Patriot systems in Germany down to nine. Although military aid to Ukraine will be reduced, Germany will meet the NATO goal of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense in 2025, with a total of 75,3 billion euros.
A few days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Chancellor Olaf Soltz announced a "Zeitenwende" - the German term for a historical upheaval - with a special fund of 100 billion euros to upgrade the military. An additional 22,0 billion euros will be allocated from this special fund for defense, plus 53,3 billion euros from the regular budget, which is still less than what Defense Minister Boris Pistorius requested. The defense budget will receive a modest 1,3 billion euros more than in 2024, which is far below the 6,7 billion euros requested by Pistorius.
Alarm bells rang across Europe after Trump on Sunday picked Senator JD Vance, who opposes military aid to Ukraine and has warned Europe that it will have to rely less on the US to defend the continent, as his running mate.
Trump has come under fire from Western officials for suggesting he will not protect countries that fail to meet NATO defense investment targets and would even encourage Russia to attack them.
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