Germany increases military aid to partner countries, mostly to Ukraine

The amount is additional spending, not included in the 100 billion euros allocated for the German military in 2022. According to the German government's plan, the money will be mainly spent on purchasing new military equipment and weapons, of which the European Peace Organization will receive about 400 million euros to buy weapons for Ukraine. The remaining amount will be spent on the German military, purchasing weapons for Ukraine and some other countries. In total, Ukraine could receive more than 1 billion euros in this new military aid package.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner confirmed the plan.

Also on April 15, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had a phone call with his German counterpart Christine Lambrecht, in which the two sides discussed joint efforts to continue supporting Ukraine as well as defending the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s eastern flank. According to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed gratitude for Germany’s “strong commitment” to join NATO allies and partners in “providing essential defense capabilities to Ukraine.”

In a related development, Russia's Interfax news agency reported that a Kremlin spokesman confirmed that Moscow had sent diplomatic notes to the US and other countries about supplying weapons to Ukraine, but did not specify the content of these notes.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post (USA) reported on April 16 that Russia has warned the US about continuing to supply weapons to Ukraine. According to the newspaper, Russia called on the US and its allies to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine, stating that this "could cause unpredictable consequences for the regional and international security situation".