Germany would increase its military aid for Ukraine in 2024, doubling the assistance to €8 billion ($8.5 billion), German defense minister Boris Pistorius announced on November 12.
The move aims at supporting Ukraine amid the ongoing struggle to remove occupying Russian forces, Pistorius said. The announcement comes particularly at a time when global attention is focused on the Gaza war.
“This is a strong signal to Ukraine, showing we are not giving up on it,” he stated, speaking to ARD television channel.
The coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz reached an agreement to double the initial aid package, primarily consisting of military equipment. The formal approval of this decision is anticipated through a vote by lawmakers.
Pistorius attributed the augmented financial commitment to the exhaustion of planned amounts based on experiences from this year, highlighting the urgency of the situation.
Ukraine has persistently sought increased military assistance from Western allies, especially in the face of a counter-offensive launched this year that has yet to dislodge entrenched Russian troops in the south and east of the country.
Berlin has been a key supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, having already provided €22 billion in humanitarian, financial, and military aid. However, Germany has been cautious about supplying long-range Taurus missiles requested by Kyiv, citing concerns about their potential use to target Russian territory.
Despite this reservation, the increased military aid underscores Germany’s commitment to bolstering Ukraine’s defense capabilities amid the ongoing conflict.
German Armed Forces standing shoulder to shoulder with NATO allies
In a report released on November 14, by the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC), Germany’s armed forces, the Bundeswehr, were found to be on par with the armed forces of NATO allies France and Britain in terms of equipment, personnel strength, and operational readiness.
“Contrary to all claims, the Federal Republic of Germany is not incapable of defence and maintains comparable armed forces” when it comes to armament, personnel strength and operational readiness compared to the French and British armed forces, according to the study.
The analysis of three decades’ worth of publicly available data concluded that the Bundeswehr’s main weapon systems are, in fact, more modern than those of its NATO counterparts.
The report dispels the notion that the Bundeswehr has been significantly reduced, asserting that Germany can make a comparable contribution to NATO’s defense as France and Britain.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, speaking at a Bundeswehr conference, reaffirmed his commitment to strengthen the country’s armed forces. He announced that Germany is poised to meet NATO’s defense spending goal of 2% of its GDP for the first time next year, with a guaranteed commitment throughout the 20s and 30s.
Scholz further emphasized that the €100 billion ($107 billion) special fund for the armed forces, initiated after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, is just the “first important step” in this strategic initiative.