Inspector General Carsten Breuer and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius at a commemoration ceremony in Berlin for the founding of the Bundeswehr 68 years ago.
Image: AFP
The federal government wants to double military aid for Ukraine. This shows how precarious she considers the situation to be.
INext year, the federal government finally wants to spend on defense, which has long been agreed as a minimum in NATO. But Berlin only gets the famous two percent because it also claims interest, child benefit and NVA pensions as defense expenditure. And because military aid for Ukraine is included, which is expected to increase from four to eight billion euros in 2024. These four billion could be used to plug some of the many holes that make up the Bundeswehr. Since the Ukrainians are preventing Putin from advancing westward with their fight against the Russian invaders, the arms deliveries to Kiev also serve German security.
Would the Bundeswehr be ready for war by then?
Doubling aid to Ukraine would of course also show how precarious Berlin believes the situation is, both militarily and politically. The Ukrainian counteroffensive failed, partly because of the West’s hesitation in supplying long-range weapons. Putin could continue to wage a war of attrition or go on the attack again in the spring.
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