Media: German aid to Ukraine in limbo as Scholz blocks €3 billion package

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has reportedly blocked a proposed €3 billion military aid package to Ukraine, despite efforts by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Defence Minister Boris Pistorius to push it through before the Bundestag elections on February 23.

According to Der Spiegel, experts from the Ministry of Defence had already prepared a detailed list of weapons for the package, Caliber.Az reports.

This included three additional IRIS-T air defence systems with ammunition, Patriot missiles, 10 howitzers, and other armaments. The ministers intended to secure the funding through the Bundestag budget committee as supplementary spending.

However, sources claim that the Federal Chancellor’s Office unofficially signalled its opposition to the proposal. The rationale provided was twofold: a desire to avoid binding the incoming government to major decisions and a belief that current funding levels remain sufficient.

The 2025 budget already allocates approximately €4 billion for military support to Ukraine. Scholz’s office also pointed to the G7’s agreement to provide Ukraine with loans sourced from frozen Russian assets as an additional resource.

Critics, including members of Scholz’s own Social Democratic Party (SPD), suggest another motive. They argue that Scholz is deliberately withholding the announcement of new aid to Ukraine to avoid influencing the election campaign, a sensitive issue in Germany's political landscape.

By Tamilla Hasanova