Germany announces next €500m military aid package for Ukraine
Germany will send nearly 200 vehicles and 10,000 artillery shells worth €500 million to help Ukraine fight back against Russian aggression, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced on Tuesday.
The new deliveries will come from the Federal Army’s stockpile, and the shells, urgently needed in Ukraine, will be delivered “shortly, basically immediately,” Pistorius stressed.
“In total, we have already allocated €7 billion for this year,” Pistorius highlighted on the sidelines of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG), held at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
For the medium term, Germany will order 100,000 shells from its defence industry and will additionally contribute to the Czech ammunition initiative, which aims to buy shells for Ukraine on the world market.
“We are also covering the cost of 180,000 rounds of ammunition for the Czech initiative,” Pistorius explained.
These major deliveries will take place in stages, starting in the summer.
The ammunition is complemented by 100 armoured infantry vehicles and 100 logistics vehicles, as well as medical supplies and additional spare parts for all delivered (weapon) systems.
“This shows that the help and support from Germany remains unbroken and is still by far the largest in Europe,” Pistorius also said.
In absolute terms, Germany ranks highest among its European partners in terms of bilateral aid to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute – though these numbers have been criticised by some, including French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who called the calculation method a mix-up of “cauliflowers and carrots.”
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry quickly praised Germany’s announcement.
“We are grateful to our German friends for their steadfast support! Together, to victory!” the ministry’s official account wrote on X.
Pistorius deflected criticism about the size of the defence contract. He did not see a problem with the total amount but rather with the production capacity in Europe.
“The aim is to establish the defence industry and munitions industry everywhere in Europe,” the German minister said.
Four days before the announcement, France, Germany and Poland reaffirmed their intention to procure more weapons for Kyiv and step up production of military equipment and confirmed that a new “coalition for long-range rocket artillery” will be set up as pledged at a conference in Paris a month earlier.
France’s Lecornu will be in Berlin on Friday to discuss the new coalition further.
(Kjeld Neubert | Euractiv.de)
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