Germany Refuses to Fund Additional Weapon Shipments to Ukraine
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed his opposition to funding additional weapon shipments to Ukraine by cutting expenditures in other sectors.
At an electoral event in Bielefeld on Monday, the Social Democrat politician stated, “I am against taking this money from pensions, against doing this by cutting municipal budgets, and against investing less in railways and roads.” He added, “Therefore, it must be additionally financed.”
This argument has faced sharp criticism from the Green Party. Scholz pointed out that there is no majority supporting his proposal to finance this through suspending the debt brake mechanism. He clarified that the “Traffic Light Coalition” ultimately collapsed due to its inability to reach an agreement on the 2025 budget dispute.
According to the German magazine “Der Spiegel,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock from the Green Party and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius from Scholz’s Social Democratic Party are seeking to secure an additional budget of around three billion euros before the parliamentary elections on February 23, to cover Ukraine’s urgent need for more weapons.

Scholz responded, “If you are going to do that, you must clarify where the money will come from.”
Pistorius, in a statement to the press on Sunday, confirmed there is no blockade from the Chancellor’s Office, saying, “We have prepared a new aid package for Ukraine at the Defense Ministry. It needs to be decided politically – and once all questions are resolved, I expect the necessary decision to be made.” In response, Felix Banaszak, the leader of the Green Party,
sharply criticized this stance, labeling it as “irresponsible escalation,” directly pointing at the
Social Democrats and Scholz.
Banaszak argued that it is possible to support Ukraine with what it needs while ensuring that
Germany and Europe can defend themselves, fund pensions, kindergartens, and other
necessities.
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