Draft German budget halves aid to Ukraine
Germany is planning to cut its military aid to Ukraine by almost half as it reduces it from around €8 billion (£6.7 billion) to around €4 billion, according to a draft budget the government has approved. Securing Ukraine’s financing was “secure for the foreseeable future,” according to Finance Minister Christian Lindner. This is due to a G7 group of wealthy nations scheme to raise $50 billion from interest on frozen Russian assets.
Germany is the second biggest military donor to Ukraine after the USA. In 2024, Berlin’s budget for Kyiv is at almost €7.5 billion. The planned air cut comes among fears in Ukraine and its European allies that American funds could be cut or even scrapped entirely if Donald Trump wins the election in November.
The draft budget was approved by the German government on Wednesday. While military aid to Ukraine will be reduced, the defence budget for 2025 will climb by €1.3 billion to €53.25 billion. That is still less than the €6 billion, which Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, had been calling for. Germany is expected to meet its target of 2% GDP spending on defence that the NATO alliance requires.
