[ad_1]
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius commented on prior reports that Berlin would double its military aid to war-torn Ukraine, which is struggling to oust occupying Russian troops, to €8 billion ($8.5 billion) in 2024.
“This is a strong signal to Ukraine, showing we are not giving up on it” when international attention is focused on the Israel-Hamas war, Boris Pistorius told television channel ARD.
The increased money is a response to this year’s experience, “which showed that planned amounts were quickly exhausted”, Pistorius said.
According to ARD, the Bundestag’s budget committee is to approve the additional expenditure in the so-called adjustment session, which begins on Thursday.
The measure would then go to a vote in parliament.
The announcement came on the anniversary of the post-war German Bundeswehr military’s formation on November 12, 1955. Pistorius attended a ceremony in Berlin on Sunday.
In earlier reports on the plans prior to Pistorius’ comments, news agencies cited unnamed insiders as saying Germany planned to classify the extra aid as defense spending and thereby reach NATO’s 2% defense spending target in 2024.
The government in Berlin has been promising to increase military spending for some time but it has been struggling to accelerate recruitment and procurement accordingly.
Germany has been one of Ukraine’s main backers since Russia unleashed its full-scale invasion in February last year, supplying roughly €22 billion in humanitarian, financial and military aid.
[ad_2]
Source link
