Budget Committee approves multi-billion aid package for Ukraine

After seemingly endless discussions and debates over the last few months, the time has finally come. The Bundestag’s Budget Committee has just approved a multi-billion euro aid package for Ukraine.

In concrete terms, an additional around €3 billion will be spent over the course of this year on the procurement of armaments such as IRIS-T SLM fire units, an ammunition package for the MIM-104 Patriot fire units, protected combat vehicles, reconnaissance drones, loitering munitions and more.

The €3 billion package will be financed in part (€453 million) through reimbursements, mainly via the European Peace Facility (EPF). A significant proportion of this package, probably around 50%, is to be delivered this year, while the rest will follow in subsequent years.

In addition, approximately €8.252 billion in so-called commitment appropriations have been approved to provide Ukraine with additional military assistance such as main battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles or self-propelled artillery systems between 2026 and 2029.

A few hours after the Bundestag’s Budget Committee’s decision, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude on X (formerly known as Twitter) and wrote, among other things, “as always, Germany is providing exactly what Ukraine needs most—what saves Ukrainian lives”.

This was preceded by a submission from the Ministry of Finance to the Bundestag’s Budget Committee, after the ministry and the chancellery had given up their blockade stance because the old Bundestag approved a historic debt package on Tuesday.

Part of the debt package is, among other things, the exemption of defence spending from the debt brake if it exceeds 1% of Germany’s GDP and a €500 billion infrastructure investment special fund.

In its submission, the Ministry of Finance pointed out that due to the continuously deteriorating military situation in Ukraine, there is a serious risk that Ukraine will be defeated in its defence campaign if it doesn’t receive significantly increased material assistance and that a military success by Russia would lead to a direct threat to European security.

It was therefore essential that the funds were approved now instead of waiting until the federal budget for the current year had been approved, which would have taken another few weeks. That’s time we simply no longer have.

With the funds approved today, Germany will spend around €7 billion on military assistance for Ukraine, as it did at the beginning of last year, making it at least in absolute terms by far the largest provider of military aid in 2025, while several billion euros will also be reserved for military assistance in subsequent years.

This will also benefit Moldova. The small neighbouring country of Ukraine is under massive pro-Russian influence also due to the pro-Russian breakaway state of Transnistria and is to receive a small portion of the funds.

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