The Bundestag’s Budget Committee, Germany’s lower house of parliament, has approved an additional €3 billion ($3.25 billion) in military aid for Ukraine in 2025, followed by another €8.3 billion from 2026-2029.
The €3 billion package adds to the €4 billion in military aid to Ukraine already earmarked for the 2025 budget. The additional money had been on hold for months due to conflicts, which ultimately led to the fall of the coalition government led by outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The upper chamber of the German parliament approved a large new expenditure package on Friday, which also loosened the country’s tight debt requirements for defense spending, allowing Germany to provide the additional funds.
What will the aid package contain?
A spokesperson for Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that the equipment to be transferred to Ukraine will include Iris-T air defense systems, guided missiles, surveillance radars, drones, combat vehicles, and light weapons.
Meanwhile, German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit stated that the German-made Iris-T air defense systems were still to be manufactured and would be delivered within the next two years.
Greens MP Britta Hasselmann, whose party has been lobbying hard for help to Ukraine, said she was glad that the fresh billions were delivered, “albeit late,” describing it as “a strong signal to Ukraine, a signal that is absolutely necessary for peace and security in Europe.”
Uncertainty over Western aid to Ukraine
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than three years ago, Germany has been Ukraine’s second-largest source of military aid after the United States, totaling over €28 billion.
However, the situation has shifted radically since US President Donald Trump reached out to Russia’s Vladimir Putin this year to settle the war, temporarily stopping military aid to Ukraine.
As the United States reduces its support for Kyiv, European allies seek to fill the hole. Germany’s prospective chancellor-in-waiting, Friedrich Merz, whose conservatives won elections in February and are in coalition discussions with Scholz’s SPD, has also stated that Germany will continue to assist Kyiv.
