From the BBC:
“Germany
plans to halve military aid for Ukraine”
Germany is
planning to nearly halve military aid for Ukraine next year, from around €8bn
(£6.7bn; $8.7bn) to around €4bn, according to a draft budget approved by the
government. Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Ukraine's financing was
"secure for the foreseeable future" due to a G7 group of rich nations
scheme to raise $50bn from interest on frozen Russian assets.
Germany is
Ukraine's second biggest military donor, after the US. In 2024, Berlin's budget
for Kyiv is set at nearly €7.5bn. The planned aid cut comes amid fears in
Ukraine and among its European allies that US funds could be slashed or even
stopped if Donald Trump wins the presidency in November's election. Russian
President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February
2022. The draft budget was approved by the German government on Wednesday. Although
military aid to Ukraine is set to be reduced, the defence budget for 2025 will
be raised by €1.3bn to €53.25bn. This is still less than the €6bn for which
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius had been pushing. Overall, Germany is planning
to meet the target of 2% GDP spending on defence as required by the Nato
alliance. The defence budget still needs to be approved by lawmakers.
^ Germany and
every other Country needs to be spending more – not less – to help Ukraine. ^
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