Germany wants to increase spending on military aid to Ukraine several times over in the coming years. In general, assistance to Kyiv will be increased from the current 3.2 billion to more than 15 billion euros.

Spiegel reports. The publication has a confidential letter from the Ministry of Finance to the Budget Committee of the Bundestag.

Germany will expand military assistance to Ukraine

In the letter, Free Democratic Party member Florian Toncari, parliamentary state secretary to finance minister Christian Lindner, politely asks parliamentarians for more money.

The federal government wants to dramatically expand military aid to Ukraine in the coming years. To do this, he needs the approval of the budget committee, but he will not refuse: with the exception of the Left and the Alternative for Germany, there is a cross-party majority in the Bundestag on the issue of supporting Ukraine.

Due to the high material losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, new supplies of materiel are needed. In order to sustainably equip the Armed Forces of Ukraine in accordance with the needs, it is necessary to immediately conclude numerous purchase agreements, which also establish payment obligations for future financial years, the Ministry of Finance said.

Without support, defeat is inevitable

We are talking about materials “in the field of air defense, armored tracked vehicles, the supply of ammunition for weapons systems supplied by Germany, and artillery.”

The Secretary of State says the additional costs are “objectively unavoidable.” They note that “without the continued support of Ukraine, there is a serious risk that Ukraine will lose in its defense struggle against the Russian aggressor, with unpredictable consequences for the European peace order.”

How much money will be allocated to help Ukraine

In the current financial year, Berlin has allocated 2.2 billion euros for the “modernization of partner countries in the field of security, defense and stabilization.” The Ministry of Defense uses this money to pay for a significant part of the supply of weapons to Ukraine, as well as to replace systems transferred from the Bundeswehr.

This year, this amount should be more than doubled – by 3.2 billion euros to 5.4 billion euros.

They note that in the coming years, another 8.8 billion euros will be allocated for “permits to commit.” Thus, the Ministry of Defense can conclude contracts for the appropriate amount. So far, only one billion euros has been planned for this. In general, aid to Ukraine will be increased from the current 3.2 billion to more than 15 billion euros.

At a closed meeting on March 28, MPs must find out where the extra money will go for Ukraine.