The Finance Ministry identifies potential for additional financial assistance towards Ukraine.
"The kettle's dry." That's apparently how the German government’s stance on Ukraine aid was phrased. Consequently, no fresh financial assistance should be handed out. However, the Federal Ministry of Finance is still open to assessing "additional requirements." They mentioned this in a statement.
Germany might still provide additional aid for Ukraine as long as funds trickle in from international programs. The Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) said they're "ready to check on the short-term supply of further funds" until then. But for this to happen, these "additional requirements" need to be "clearly stated and traceable" to comply with all budgetary rules and secure approval from the German Bundestag. At the moment, there's no "concrete requirement statement." Therefore, no check or decision can be made.
Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, told "Bild am Sonntag," "Europe's security relies on Germany's ability and political will to continue playing a significant role in supporting Ukraine." Kyiv hopes the German government will find ways to finance our shared security needs for this year. Military aid for Ukraine is an investment in security and a guarantee of peace for Europe, said the ambassador.
Initially, it was reported that the German government had no intention of providing new aid for Ukraine. According to a report by the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung" (FAS), there's no fresh money available after the current budget planning. Approved supplies are still being delivered, but additional requests from the Defense Ministry are not being approved, as per Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz's instructions, it's said. The reason is cost-cutting measures by the Chancellery and the Ministry of Finance.
Military analyst voiced criticism
As FAS discovered from documents, emails, and conversations in several German government and parliament buildings, Finance Minister Christian Lindner proposed a similar request in a letter to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on August 5. It's said that "new measures" can only be approved if "financing is secured in future budget plans." For this year, around eight billion euros have already been set aside for Ukraine. For the following year, the planned upper limit is four billion euros and is believed to be oversubscribed. "End of story. The kettle's dry," a spokesperson from the German government told FAS.
The German government's plan is to finance Ukraine's support through a new international fund, after which, as recently agreed by the G7 group of countries, frozen Russian assets will be used to aid Ukraine.
Military analyst Carlo Masala from the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich criticized this plan. While it's theoretically possible to make the interest from frozen assets available for weapons purchases, Masala said, "we've seen that this decision to use Russian assets has been made a long time ago, and little progress has been made so far."
Masala is concerned that support from the federal budget cannot be replaced. "If aid is reduced and few frozen assets of wealthy EU oligarchs reach Ukraine, then, of course, Ukraine will have fewer weapons in the future or be able to buy fewer." This would impact the combat power of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Masala thinks the new approach is flawed: "The main issue with this decision is: Even if additional funds for military aid are gathered in the end, it impairs Ukraine's, the Federal Ministry of Defense, and arms manufacturers' planning capabilities. And we've seen the consequences of political hesitation in the war against Russia in recent years."
The Federal government of Germany is currently considering additional requirements for providing further aid to Ukraine, as stated by the Federal Ministry of Finance. However, the absence of a concrete requirement statement from Ukraine prevents any immediate checks or decisions regarding additional financial support.
Despite the German government's initial stance on not providing new aid for Ukraine, the Federal government is exploring the possibility of financing Ukraine's support through a new international fund, with frozen Russian assets potentially being used.
