Germany to freeze new financial and military aid to Ukraine: what happened

The German federal government will no longer provide financial assistance to Ukraine. Also, no new amounts will be allocated for military aid. All the aid already pledged (including for the next year) will be paid, but no new funds will be allocated.

This was reported by Bild. Finance Minister Christian Lindner asked Defense Minister Borys Pistorius to stop payments to Ukraine. In a letter, Lindner wrote that "new measures" should be taken only if "funding is secured" in the budget plans for this and subsequent years.

Payments that have already been approved should be received, and materials should be delivered. For 2024, funds of about eight billion euros have already been planned for Ukraine. The planned maximum limit for 2025 is four billion euros, and it is apparently already overbooked. However, additional requests from the Defense Ministry no longer have to be approved at the request of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Budget expert Andreas Schwarz, who is responsible for defense policy, confirmed to the newspaper that "there will be no new orders" because "they are no longer funded." Budget politician Ingo Gedehns also confirmed the report and criticized it: "Any day now Olaf Scholz will freeze financial and thus military support for Ukraine."

The good news is that Germany can use Russian money to finance Ukraine

The Ministry of Defense and the Federal Ministry of Finance initially did not want to comment on the media reports. However, they later said that the federal government is working "in particular with the G7 and the EU to open a short-term financing instrument worth $50 billion for Ukraine using frozen Russian assets." "Bilateral German assistance remains at the highest level, but relies on the effectiveness of this instrument," the politicians said.

Thus, Ukraine will receive a $50 billion loan from the G7 countries, which will be repaid from the proceeds of Russia's seized assets in the EU, the US, and partner countries. The seized assets of the Russian Federation are estimated at $280 billion, and this amount will not actually change after the loan is repaid at Russian expense.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, the historic agreement will provide critical support to Ukraine in the medium term, helping to cover its financial needs until 2025 and beyond. Under the terms of the agreement, the United States, the European Union, and other participants will provide loans to Ukraine using the proceeds of frozen assets, which will be repaid over time. The loans will be structured in accordance with the internal procedures of each participant.

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