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German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said that he expects his country to remain Ukraine’s leading military supporter in Europe.
The president’s rare intervention in daily politics follows reports that domestic austerity measures could see German military assistance to Ukraine halved in 2025.
“Germany is the biggest military supporter of Ukraine, the reasons for which have been mentioned often enough by the federal government,” said Mr Steinmeier during a visit to Hungary on Monday. “I expect that Germany remains the largest military supporter.”
After Germany provided €7.5 billion in support for Ukraine this year, next year’s budget forecast mentions €4 billion. The proposed cut is part of a moratorium on additional aid for Ukraine that follows months of wrangling over Germany’s federal budget. After a short-lived agreement last month, a €12 billion funding gap has opened up and forced finance minister Christian Linder to seek further cuts from government ministries.
The liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) is determined to present a 2025 budget with borrowing within the terms of the so-called debt brake. In a letter, Mr Lindner asked defence minister Boris Pistorius only to take on further financial obligations if funding is secured from elsewhere.
[ German anxiety rises over deepening commitment to Ukraine conflictOpens in new window ]
The finance ministry is concerned about further costs amid delays to a G7 plan to support Kyiv using interest from frozen Russian state assets.
On Monday, German officials insisted the Ukraine budget may yet still be increased to 2024 levels when the 2025 budget goes before the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag.
“Germany remains absolutely committed,” said Wolfgang Büchner, deputy spokesman for chancellor Olaf Scholz. He repeated the German leader’s words that “support for Ukraine will continue as long as necessary” and added: “No one, especially not the Russian president should hope we will ease off here.”
To date Germany has provided about €13.7 billion in aid and military equipment to Ukraine, the largest contribution after the US, with a further €6 billion committed until 2028.
Plans for this year include the delivery of four air-defence systems, 20 tanks, 16 self-propelled howitzers and several thousand rounds of artillery and tank ammunition.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, was not placated, warning that German military aid cuts “means jeopardising Europe’s security”.
[ Russia denies plotting to kill boss of German weapons firm that arms UkraineOpens in new window ]
“The funds are there,” he wrote on X. “it’s a question of political will.”
Leading members of Mr Scholz’s ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) attacked Mr Lindner’s letter, too, as “the wrong signal at the wrong time”.
“We must not sacrifice the fate of Ukraine on the altar of the debt brake,” said Michael Roth, chairman of the Bundestag foreign affairs committee.
When Mr Scholz returns from his summer break on Tuesday he will face pressure to explain whether Mr Lindner has his backing for a policy shift.
Already signalling a shift on Monday was Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. The normally hawkish voice within the FDP suggested on X that stepping up aid to Ukraine “is only possible together with our European partners”.
[ German foreign minister warns Berlin austerity rules a risk to Ukraine and EuropeOpens in new window ]
The controversy comes two weeks before elections in two eastern German states, where widespread opposition towards military aid to Ukraine has hit the regional allies of Berlin’s coalition parties.
Speculation about Germany’s military commitment to Ukraine saw shares in leading German arms company Rheinmetall slide two points on Monday.
Not everyone was critical: Germany’s Catholic Pax Christi peace movement welcomed news of the military aid cut, saying the conflict was leading to military exhaustion and “could be ended with talks at diplomatic level”.