Germany pledges more than 1 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz – Photo: REUTERS

According to AFP news agency, the aid package will be part of Germany’s supplementary budget this year.

A German government spokesman said Berlin had decided to increase international aid in the defense sector to “up to 2 billion euros”, with the largest part of which went to military aid to Ukraine.

In a Twitter post on April 15, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner also confirmed that most of the aid package worth 2 billion euros (more than 2.1 billion USD) “will be mainly for Ukraine”. Ukraine must use this aid to buy military equipment.

The statement by the German government comes after growing criticism from Ukraine and some European Union partners such as Poland and the Baltic states about Berlin’s lack of arms support to Kiev.

Earlier this week, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Kiev did not welcome him to visit, causing awkward relations between Germany and Ukraine.

Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky explained that he did not receive a direct proposal from the German leader. Zelensky also said that Kiev wanted to welcome German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Kiev, but Scholz said he had no plans to do so anytime soon.

Scholz is also facing increasing pressure to show support for Ukraine. In Germany, Mr. Scholz was criticized for his reluctance to send heavy weapons to Ukraine.

After visits by a number of world leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, many critics asked why Scholz did not make a similar trip.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, said Mr Scholz’s visit to Kiev would send a “strong signal”.