The head of the German Defense Ministry, Christine Lambrecht, and the head of the Foreign Ministry, Annalena Baerbock, asked the Ministry of Finance to allocate three times more money to help Ukraine. They demand to take this into account when approving the budget for next year.
Der Spiegel writes about this with reference to the letter of two ministers.
They criticize the fact that only €697 million is planned for the so-called education article in the 2023 budget. In their opinion, only with a budget of €2.2 billion would Germany be able to "concretely and clearly assume the responsibility that our international partners expect from us."
Lambrecht and Baerbock recall that in 2022, Germany financed the supply of weapons to Ukraine or other states as part of a circular exchange with Ukraine from a special fund. And this fund "turned out to be a central financial instrument" for assistance.
The ministers now want Finance Minister Christian Lindner to increase the fund by at least €1.5 billion when finalizing the budget. They emphasize that the international reputation of Germany will depend on it.
- Before the beginning of winter, Germany handed over another package of military aid to Ukraine. Over the past week, the Bundeswehr has handed over five more armored recovery vehicles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (in addition to the same number previously); seven heavy and medium bridge systems; 167 thousand cartridges for firearms; 100 tents (now there are 200 of them in the Ukrainian Armed Forces); 183 generators; 116 thousand winter jackets; 80 thousand winter pants; 240 thousand winter hats.