Germany says plans extra 1.9bn euros in military aid to Ukraine

BERLIN: Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Thursday the government in Berlin was planning another tranche of military aid for Kyiv this year, as Russia intensifies its attacks on Ukraine.

Germany was set to approve another 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion) of military support for Ukraine, Pistorius said in a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.

The new aid package “hasn’t been finalised yet, but it is being lined up”, he said, adding that the funds would be available “in the coming weeks and months once the decision has been made in parliament”.

The extra money would bring Germany’s total support for Ukraine to around nine billion euros this year, Pistorius said. Berlin had already earmarked some seven billion euros in aid for Ukraine.

The funding boost would be used to finance a German-backed plan for Ukraine to produce its own long-range weapons, the minister indicated.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz last month said the two countries would jointly develop “long-range weapons systems”.

The government in Berlin has long been under pressure to supply weapons that Ukrainian forces could use to hit targets deep within Russia territory, as other Western allies have done.

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In particular, Kyiv had been keen to get German-made Taurus missiles, which have a range of over 500 kilometres (more than 300 miles).

The previous German government in Berlin led by former chancellor Olaf Scholz had however refused Taurus deliveries for fear an escalation in tensions with Russia.

New Chancellor Friedrich Merz had previously signalled support for deliveries of Taurus but has not brought about a change in the government’s position since taking office last month.

More recently Merz has refused to address the issue, citing a policy of “strategic ambiguity”.

Pistorius, questioned on Thursday whether Germany was currently considering sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine, said “my answer is no”.