BERLIN, August 20. /TASS/. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has dismissed speculations Berlin plans to cut support for Ukraine. He made a statement to this effect in an interview with the Sat.1 TV channel. Extracts from the interview have been published by the DPA news agency.
Scholz vowed that "nothing at all" can shatter Germany’s promises to provide support for Kiev. Also, he finds surprising the current debate over whether Berlin intends to cut military support to Kiev. Scholz recalled that the German government planned to allocate 4 billion euros in military aid to Kiev next year - more than any other European country.
In addition, according to the decision of the Group of Seven, Ukraine will receive a loan of 50 billion euros, the interest on which will be financed with proceeds from frozen Russian assets. This, as Scholz noted, will allow Ukraine to purchase the necessary weapons. This instrument has not yet been agreed internationally. However, the German chancellor argues that "there is nothing unclear about it."
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported on August 17 that Germany was to limit military aid to Ukraine because, according to current budget planning, no more funds are now available for this purpose. The austerity measures taken by the Federal Chancellor's Office and the Ministry of Finance are the reason.
Germany is Ukraine’s second largest arms supplier after the US. Berlin has so far allocated funds for Kiev's military support and promised future spending in an amount of about 28 billion euros. Under the 2025 budget agreement, 4 billion euros will be allocated for military support for Ukraine - half of the current year's amount. The Russian authorities have repeatedly said that pumping weapons into Ukraine will not reduce Moscow’s resolve or turn the tide of the special military operation.