The German government said that it will provide more than a billion euros in military aid to Ukraine, despite Kyiv’s objections that it is not receiving heavy weapons from Berlin. The funds in 2022 will be included in a supplemental budget. Hence, Germany to provide over 1bn euros’ military aid to Ukraine.
Berlin has agreed to expand its international defense help “to two billion euros” in total, taking into account all nations, with “the greatest share being planned in the shape of military aid in favor of Ukraine,” a ministry spokesperson told. This two-billion-euro envelope “will primarily go to Ukraine,” revealed Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Twitter. Ukraine must primarily utilize the funds to support military equipment acquisitions. The move comes amid mounting criticism from Ukraine and certain EU partners, including Poland and the Baltic States, over a perceived lack of armament assistance for Kyiv.
A scheduled visit by Germany’s president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a former foreign minister who recently admitted “errors” in an overly conciliatory approach to Moscow in the past, ruffled diplomatic feathers earlier April. Instead, the Ukrainian presidency said it wanted to welcome German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Kyiv, but Scholz said he had no plans to travel anytime soon. Scholz was under pressure to increase his support for Ukraine at the spat.
Despite his abrupt U-turn on Germany’s defense policy in response to Russia’s incursion, he has come under pressure at home for his reluctance to deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine. After visiting Kyiv with numerous other foreign leaders, notably British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, opponents questioned why Scholz was not among them. Scholz’s visit to Kyiv would send a “strong signal,” according to Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, while the opposition CDU has asked him to “get an impression of the reality on the ground.”
Even a member of Scholz’s ruling coalition, the liberal FDP’s Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, stated in an interview with Handelsblatt’s business daily that Scholz should “start using his powers of direction and leadership.”
To explore more Political articles, Please Click Here!
