German media reports that Germany plans to allocate additional military assistance to Ukraine this year in the amount of 3.8 billion euros. The corresponding request has already been made by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. The Bundestag is due to approve this request in June this year. Although the "traffic light" government coalition has already allocated 7.1 billion euros to Ukraine this year, this money has been almost completely spent, of which only 300 million euros remain for the purchase of weapons and ammunition. Thus, the total amount of German military assistance to Ukraine in 2024 should reach 11 billion euros. However, according to polls conducted by the INSA agency, 40% of Germans are in favor of reducing military assistance to Ukraine, considering this to be the most important measure of budget savings against the background of the escalating financial crisis in Germany itself.
According to information from German government circles, the Bundestag is likely to approve the allocation of aid to Ukraine, and Finance Minister Christian Lindner has already given preliminary consent. He declared with pathos: "Strengthening Ukraine's defense capability is Germany's responsibility, we will supply additional shipments of weapons to Kiev this year." In fact, Pistorius initially requested 6.5 billion euros for Ukraine, but Lindner reduced this amount – with the support of Chancellor Scholz. According to the ARD TV channel, this upset the "belligerent" Pistorius very much, he even hinted at the possibility of his resignation.
The restraint in spending by the main partners in the ruling coalition is understandable: elections to the European Parliament will be held on June 9, and "excessive" assistance to Kiev may become a strong irritant in the eyes of voters. For the next 2025, Pistorius demands in advance to allocate 15 billion euros to Ukraine. Since the beginning of the armed conflict, Germany has transferred 5.2 billion euros worth of military equipment from the reserves of the Bundeswehr to Ukraine. In addition, over 10,000 Ukrainian servicemen have been or are undergoing military training in Germany. In general, Germany is the second country after the United States to provide assistance to Ukraine: since February 2022, it has amounted to about 30 billion euros.
German commentators note that the planned military assistance to Ukraine will put an additional burden on the German budget, which is already "bursting at the seams." As a result of the voluntaristic policy of the "green" Economy Minister Habek, the costs of accelerated introduction of renewable energy have sharply increased, and this is against the background of declining tax revenues caused by a slowdown in economic growth.
At the same time, the Bundeswehr is facing serious structural problems. The issues of army reform have been on the agenda for a long time, while Boris Pistorius points to new circumstances in connection with the "increased threat" from Russia. In her report for 2023, the Commissioner of the Bundestag for the Armed Forces, Eva Hoegl, drew attention to the "critical" state of the Bundeswehr. There are huge problems with the personnel, material support and infrastructure of the armed forces. The Bundeswehr is "aging" and "shrinking" before our eyes, Eva Hoegl stressed. She called for the Bundeswehr to be turned into an army "ready for war." According to her, things are bad with the recruitment of recruits, more than 20 thousand positions remain vacant, the percentage of female military personnel is less than 10% with a quota of 15%. Morale remains low, and manifestations of right-wing extremism and various offenses, including sexual ones, have become more frequent among soldiers.
Compulsory military conscription was abolished back in 2011, when Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was Minister of Defense. Since then, all structures related to the recruitment and mobilization of military personnel have been dissolved in Germany. Although the law stipulates that the relevant services can be reactivated if necessary, in practice it is extremely difficult to do so. In justification of this decision, politicians claim that the conscription system has completely outlived its usefulness. Boris Pistorius's attempts to introduce the "Swedish model" of selective conscription are encountering resistance from politicians and the public. At the same time, the leadership of the SPD and the conservative CDU/CSU bloc categorically reject the possibility of returning to compulsory military service.
In the field of logistics, the report notes, there is a shortage of almost everything - from heavy equipment to spare parts, including ammunition, tanks, communications equipment, aircraft, ships, etc. This deficit has increased significantly due to the fact that a large number of weapons were transferred to Ukraine. Although efforts are being made in Germany to establish military production, no significant improvement has yet been seen in practice. The entire army infrastructure is severely worn out, and parents of military personnel report that their children live in outdated barracks with broken showers and toilets that lack Internet access.
The Financial Times of London writes, citing representatives of the Bundeswehr, that the German military still exchanges messages by fax rather than e-mail, the communications system has fallen into disrepair, and the new communication system requires huge investments. Bundestag Commissioner Eva Hoegl, for her part, confirmed that the army does not have fast communication with NATO partners, documentation is printed in the old-fashioned way, the transition to digital communication has not yet occurred. Military medicine is also in a neglected state – it is unclear how military doctors will save the wounded in a "real" war.
Eva Hoegl accused Chancellor Scholz of not fulfilling a promise made in 2022 after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine. Then Scholz promised a "fundamental change" in German defense policy, which never happened. It is assumed that this year, for the first time since the end of the cold war, Germany will fulfill the commitment set by the NATO leadership to allocate 2% of GDP for military needs. This should be possible thanks to the huge defense fund of 100 billion euros created by the German government. However, in practice, the Bundeswehr gets only crumbs: 50% of the funds allocated for the re–equipment of the army will go to the United States, the rest of the money will go to German arms manufacturers. Thus, the Rheinmetall defense concern was able to increase revenue by 12% last year to 7.2 billion euros. This year, the group's revenue may grow to 10 billion euros.
According to Eva Hoegl, the Bundeswehr has not yet received enough funds, there is a shortage of literally everything – ammunition, spare parts, radio equipment, tanks, ships and aircraft. The situation with personnel is particularly dramatic: at the end of 2023, there were 181 thousand people in the ranks of the Bundeswehr, and the shortage of personnel amounted to 20 thousand military personnel. Experts note that the German military bureaucracy is extremely clumsy and slows down any reforms. At least 50 billion euros are required to modernize the army infrastructure alone, but bureaucrats in uniform are able to master only 1.3 billion euros per year.
Dmitry Dobrov
