German media report that Berlin is imposing a ban on planning new military aid spending for Ukraine.
Peter Carstens and Konrad Schuller write in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” that most of the previously approved equipment will be delivered, but that additional applications submitted by the Ministry of Defense, in accordance with the recommendation of Chancellor Scholz, should be rejected.
Let us not forget that in Germany there have been voices for some time now calling for a reduction in aid to Ukraine.
Letter to Pistorius
In their article, the journalists refer to a letter from Finance Minister Christian Lindner, sent to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on August 5, which is supposed to confirm these reports.
“Next year, the situation in Ukraine will deteriorate further, as planned military aid is expected to be reduced by almost half, and in 2027 it will drop to less than a tenth of the current amount,” we can read in “FAZ”.
Scholz wants to use frozen Russian assets
Germany does not want to radically cut aid to Ukraine, but the fundamental change will concern the source of financing. The aid should not come from the German budget, but from the frozen assets of Russian banks (about 300 billion dollars). However, journalists have no doubt that the whole idea is uncertain. “It is more than doubtful whether it will be possible to use Russian money in the future,” say Carstens and Schuller.
The effects of this strategy are already visible today. In the end, Berlin could not find the money to finance the purchase of the IRIS-T air defense system.
Germany cuts spending
This year, Germany has earmarked 8 billion euros for military aid to Ukraine. This money has already been allocated. This also means that the upper limit of the expenditure for 2025 of 4 billion euros has already been reached. Only 3 billion euros have been earmarked for 2026. And half a billion in the next two years. No additional financing is possible. “It’s over. The coffers are empty,” says one of the government representatives in an interview with journalists.
Source: Do Rzeczy
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
