Germany to give additional €400 million of military aid to Ukraine

Germany expects to allocate an additional €400 million of military aid to Ukraine, according to a letter from Florian Toncar, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance, to the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag (the German federal parliament).

As reported by ntv, Toncar, who is a member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), cited the additional needs identified by the German Defence Ministry and the difficult situation Ukraine finds itself in with regard to the war against Russia.

The funds will be used to purchase military equipment from the German defence industry, according to Toncar.

Toncar wrote that the recent successes of the Russian Armed Forces have worsened Ukraine’s position, with Ukrainian forces suffering "extensive material losses" given Russia’s advantage in artillery and glide bomb use.

There is a "serious risk", Toncar wrote, "that Ukraine will lose its defensive battle without the aid being ramped up significantly".

On 17 September, it was reported that Boris Pistorius, Minister of Defence of Germany, hoped that the German federal government would approve supplementary funds for the supply of armament to Ukraine on top of the €7.5 billion earmarked for Ukraine in the 2024 German budget.

Earlier, German media reported that the current budget planning of the German federal government did not provide additional funds for the support of Ukraine, and additional applications of the Ministry of Defence of Germany regarding the military aid for Ukraine would no longer be approved on the chancellor’s demand.

At the same time, the German government denied its intention to curtail military assistance for Ukraine.