German Chancellor Olaf Scholz blocked the provision of military aid to Ukraine worth 3 billion euros, which was promoted by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, writes Der Spiegel citing informed sources.
The ministers proposed to allocate an additional 3 billion euros for military aid to Ukraine before the Bundestag elections scheduled for February 23. The heads of the two ministries began working on the new tranche after the ruling coalition collapsed in November 2024. The expenses for this aid were supposed to be conducted as unplanned through the budget committee of the current parliament. In the past, Berlin has already resorted to a similar step to provide assistance to Ukraine.
In an appeal to the budget committee, the ministers noted that Kyiv's positions on the battlefield have worsened in recent months and also pointed to unclear prospects regarding future support from the US after Donald Trump's return to the White House.
The implementation of this plan stalled at the beginning of January because Olaf Scholz's office made it clear that he does not support this initiative. According to Spiegel, the Chancellor "does not want to present the future federal government with a fait accompli" and "does not see the need for urgent action".
Moreover, Scholz's office does not see the need for urgent action, as it considers the approximately 4 billion euros provided in the preliminary budget for 2025 for military aid to be sufficient and points to the possibility of using the 50 billion dollar loan provided by the G7 from the proceeds of frozen Russian state assets. Sources from Der Spiegel among the Social Democrats suggest that Scholz does not want to announce further arms supplies to Ukraine in the midst of the election campaign, so as not to alienate potential SPD voters.
Photo: Reuters