Germany adds €12 bln in military assistance for Ukraine: Bloomberg

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Bloomberg
29 Mar 2023 23:32
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In total, the additional aid would amount to an increase between €12 billion to €14.2 billion.

A soldier fires a machine gun from a Leopard 2 tank at the Bundeswehr tank battalion 203 at the Field Marshal Rommel Barracks in Augustdorf, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023 (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

German authorities are planning to increase financial assistance for the Kiev regime by as much as €12 billion ($13 billion), sources told Bloomberg.

According to sources who requested anonymity, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is waiting to receive the go-ahead from the budget committee of the German Bundestag to include an additional €5.4 billion in military assistance.

Another €8.8 billion will be dispatched if needed in coming years, sources told Bloomberg.

In total, the additional aid would amount to an increase between €12 billion to €14.2 billion.

The money is not part of the regular defense budget, nor is it part of a €100 billion special fund that was set up for the rearmament of Germany’s army.

The Committee is also due to greenlight a plan to buy 10 self-propelled, rapid-fired howitzers from Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG to replenish German stockpiles.

On March 13, the representative of the German army in the parliament, Eva Hoegl, warned that the military "lacks everything", slamming the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for unfulfilling his promise to replenish the Bundeswehr's arms stocks that he handed over to Ukraine.

In December 2020, Hoegl announced days before taking charge as commander of NATO's Rapid Reaction Force that the armed forces have crucial equipment deficiencies.

"Personal equipment such as helmets, backpacks, protective vests, as well as small and large equipment - from radios, ammunition, to tanks," adding then that "the Bundeswehr has too little of almost everything."

During the interview, the MEP said the lack of equipment, even fitting helmets, is obstructing the training and readability of the army.

"The Bundeswehr lacks everything, from personal items, such as personal equipment, small devices, night-vision equipment, radios, to larger devices. Our soldiers have to deal with shortages daily. This is hindering education and training," she said.

The armed forces only received a fraction of the 100 billion euros ($107 billion) military budget promised by Scholz, Hoegl revealed, adding that the overall condition of the army's infrastructures is in a miserable state, first of which are the barracks.