Germany has announced plans to reduce military aid to Ukraine by half in 2025, despite fears that US support for Kyiv could potentially diminish if Donald Trump wins America’s presidential election in November.
German support for Ukraine is set to fall to four billion euros in the coming year compared to eight billion euros in 2024, according to the country’s new draft budget. Officials in Berlin have expressed hopes that Kyiv’s military funding needs can be covered via fifty billion dollars in loans secured using frozen Russian assets.
The news of a sharp reduction in bilateral German aid for Ukraine is seen as particularly significant in light of US presidential candidate Trump’s frequent calls for European nations to provide more support for the Ukrainian war effort. While most assessments indicate that Ukraine’s European backers are providing Ukraine with more financial aid than the United States, Trump has repeatedly claimed that Europe is not doing enough.