Third of Germany's Record Arms Exports Goes to Ukraine

The German government exports at least €11.71 billion worth of arms in 2023, which is a record sum.

According to the the Ministry of Economy's response to a request from Sevim Dağdelen, a Bundestag MP and member of the Sahra Wagenknecht Union, compared to the previous year, arms exports increased by 40 per cent. More than a third of the approved exports of €4.15 billion goes to Ukraine.

This reportedly concerns the period from 1 January to 12 December 2023, during which Germany approved the export of military arms worth €6.15 billion and other military equipment worth €5.57 billion.

Almost 90% of these exports go to the EU, NATO, Ukraine and NATO allies such as Japan, Australia and South Korea.

The largest importers of German arms after Ukraine are Norway (€1.2 billion), Hungary (€1.03 billion), the United Kingdom (€654.9 million), the United States (€545.4 million), and Poland (€327.9 million).

Germany has also approved exports of arms and other military equipment of its own production worth €1.76 billion to Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The German government updated the list of military aid for Ukraine on 22 December, announcing the supply of 3 Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft systems with additional components in addition to the 49 systems supplied earlier.

Earlier, the list of military aid to Ukraine included a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system and missiles for it.

Before that, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that his country should be prepared to expand its support for Ukraine amid declining support from others.