Scholz called aid to Ukraine a “financial challenge” for Germany

Assistance to Ukraine is a challenge for Germany financially, but Berlin will definitely continue to provide it, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

“We continue to support Ukraine <...> We do this with financial resources and weapons supplies. And, of course, this is also a big financial challenge for us,” – he noted during a speech at the congress of the Social Democratic Party of Germany

Scholz said that at various discussions he was often asked the question about the correctness of pumping Kyiv with weapons and introducing sanctions against Russia. However, he believes that these are the right decisions.

Moscow, according to the chancellor, should not assume that the West will “slow down its efforts.” He also expressed the opinion that the conflict in Ukraine will not end quickly, so the allies need to provide assistance to Kyiv “this year, next year and beyond.”

It should be noted that the total amount of assistance to Ukraine from Germany, humanitarian, financial and military, has exceeded 25 billion euros since February 2022. In November it was reported that Berlin was going to increase aid in 2024 from 4 billion to 8 billion euros, but the budget was not agreed due to fiscal problems. On December 7, the Kiel Institute of World Economics (IfW) reported that the volume of Western assistance to Kyiv decreased by 90% in August-October compared to the same period last year.