Germans against helping Ukraine
Eviralnews,, Germany's “Hamburger Abend Blatt” newspaper, according to the report of the Kiel Institute for World Economy, Germany is the second supplier of arms to Ukraine in the war against Russia after the United States. Since the start of the war, the German federal government has provided more than 33.9 billion euros in bilateral support to the country. However, Germany's extensive military support for Ukraine is not without controversy among the German public.
An exclusive poll by the Seavey Institute of 5,000 German citizens aged 18 and over shows mixed opinions about Germany's support for Ukraine. Based on this, about 46% of the participants in this survey agree to maintain the role of German leadership in supporting Ukraine in the war against Russia. In contrast, 43 percent place little importance on the role, while 11 percent are undecided.
The results of this survey show that the rejection of military aid is particularly strong among supporters of the extreme Alternative for Germany party. Accordingly, 82% of them see little need for Germany to maintain its main role in Europe's support for Ukraine. In contrast, 83% of Green voters support the continuation of these grants.
This year, the German federal government has earmarked about eight billion euros to support Ukraine. But in early July, it became clear that the funds had been largely spent. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned on the eve of the NATO summit that the budget was “overspent”.
It has recently been reported that no additional funding sources will be available next year beyond the €4 billion previously planned for continued support to Ukraine. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung recently reported on a letter from German Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in which he stressed that “new measures” with financial commitments could only be made if that financing in this field should be done in the budget of the coming years.
Despite the budget shortfall, the German federal government on Monday denied rumors of a cut in military aid. Wolfgang Buchner, the deputy spokesman of the German government, said: We will continue to provide assistance as long as it is necessary. German chancellor Olaf Schultz also reiterated on Platform X that Germany is still “the strongest supporter of Ukraine in Europe”. He pointed to a 50 billion euro loan from Russia's frozen assets approved at the G7 summit to enable Ukraine to buy more weapons.
Germany's Federal Ministry of Defense is optimistic that even short-term requests, such as ammunition or spare parts, can be met. A spokesperson of the ministry stressed that practical solutions will be found to meet the needs of Ukraine. However, Germany's support for Ukraine is still a sensitive issue, which is followed with great attention, especially in the partner countries of Eastern Europe.
end of message/
