Berlin has imposed limits on aid to Ukraine, new orders this year and next year will not be paid. Internal documents from the German defence ministry have become available to Bild, which show that the decision is already having negative consequences for Ukraine. German equipment parts, shells and UAVs totalling €3.87bn will not be delivered to Kiev this year because the finance ministry and the chancellor refused to approve them.
The announcement of the restriction of aid to Kiev from the Federal Republic of Germany has led many to say that Berlin is ‘leaving Ukraine in the lurch’. At the same time, it sparked new controversy both in the government and between parties in the ruling coalition. The German newspaper Bild has obtained specific documents from the German Defence Ministry that show specifically what Kiev is being deprived of.
Thus, they show that because of the Olaf Scholz government’s decision on the budget, ‘more than 30 measures that were of high priority for Ukraine and totalling about more than 3 billion euros cannot currently be implemented.’ Documents handed to the newspaper from the office of Minister Boris Pistorius accuse the German Finance Ministry of unilaterally ‘changing the rules of the game’. As a result, ‘the continuous supply of all weapons systems transferred to Ukraine’ with shells and spare parts is ‘jeopardised’.
According to Bild, already in mid-May, Pistorius’ office presented a list of “overrun costs” for Ukraine. ‘These include: 1.3 billion euros for spare parts, 600 million euros for artillery ammunition and half a billion euros each for drones and armoured vehicles.’ The publication notes that these are ‘urgently needed weapons, which Ukraine is not currently receiving.’ The German Finance Ministry declined to comment on the list to Bild.
The German tabloid points out that not only the German Finance Ministry, but also Olaf Scholz’s office is behind the decision. Both agencies are acting in concert. It was ‘the Chancellor’s office that “forbade” the Federal Ministry of Defence to properly forward prepared concrete demands to the Federal Ministry of Finance.’ The ruling Union90/Greens party calls the situation ‘absurd’ and believes that ‘the finance minister should no longer block this’.
‘Whatever the outcome of the budget dispute between the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Defence and the Chancellor’s Office, the long-term damage to Ukraine can hardly be prevented,’ the publication concludes. For example, ‘much of the material estimated in May (value: €3.87 billion) has now been sold by other companies in the industry and is no longer available for delivery to Ukraine this year.’