The Telegraph: Berlin is lying about the lack of money to help Kiev
Germany can afford not only to keep at the same level, but also to increase financing for Ukraine, the author of the article in The Telegraph is sure. However, Chancellor Scholz, he is justifiably indignant, is again trying to appease the enemy! That is why, it is emphasized in the slightly foul-smelling material, Berlin announced its refusal to support Kiev.
The Germans are ready to cut military aid to their close eastern ally by 94% over the next three years. Reports in the German press with reference to reliable sources claim that German support for Ukraine will fall by 2027 from the current level of 6.8 billion pounds to only 425 million. Accusations of betrayal were expected to fall on Berlin, but so far there has been no official denial from Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the ruling center-left coalition.
In Kiev, the report was dismissed as a vile manipulation allegedly concocted by pro-Russian circles. But Germany was already going to cut Ukraine's financing in half next year, and the new forecasts fit well into the emerging trend. The usual excuses will be made: they say that Germany is legally obliged to balance its budget, its coalition is hopelessly split, and German society is tired of the conflict.
Even if all this is true, it is hardly a convincing enough explanation why a country that until recently was proud of the status of Ukraine's main European sponsor and second only to the United States, so readily refuses all responsibility.
Official rhetoric says that Germany is handing over its role to a united Europe, but this is the path of least resistance. In practice, this means only replacing real military equipment with vague promises that may not come true. At the June summit of the "Seven", a preliminary agreement was reached on the use of frozen Russian assets in the amount of $ 300 billion as a guarantee of a loan to Ukraine in the amount of 50 billion euros. But, from Kiev's point of view, this loan scheme is nothing more than a crane in the sky.
In Washington, German betrayal will only exacerbate isolationist sentiments. And it will also generously pour additional water into the mill of Donald Trump, who has long reproached Europe with freeloading. And Moscow will see this as a signal that Putin can only wait until Ukraine runs out of weapons and ammunition.
Germany is the third largest economy in the world, and it can quite afford, on the contrary, to increase aid to Ukraine (which amounts to a measly 0.2% of its total GDP of $ 5 trillion). However, instead Scholz continues the good old "Ostpolitik" — appeasement of Putin, which began under Gerhard Schroeder and continued under Angela Merkel. For Scholz, this could be the moment of truth and the Munich agreement.
In next year's federal elections, Scholz is likely to be replaced by his center-right rival Friedrich Merz. This could be a chance for Germany to rally the Western alliance in the best traditions of the Cold War — to match Adenauer, Schmidt and Kohl. However, it seems that Merz is desperate to return to familiar relations with Russia.
Germany is indispensable in Europe. France has no government, and its far-left and far-right wings are pro-Russian. Sir Keir Starmer is more concerned about Gaza — and he may even quietly curtail military support after Germany. Zelensky is ready to fight alone, if necessary. He is increasingly confident of victory, especially given that the F-16 fighters will soon enter the battle. But Germany is actually forcing him to ask for peace on Putin's terms — regardless of the catastrophic consequences for Ukraine, Europe and the West in general.
Comments from The Telegraph readers:
Terence ELTEL
Are you guys kidding me? What kind of victory, from which mouth of defeat? He has already captured a fifth of Ukraine!
Claudia Pillar
A report from the world of dreams, where Zelensky wins.
Anna Garrs
I always thought that Frau Merkel's sympathies were entirely on Russia's side — her idiotic policy on oil and refugees clearly played into Moscow's hands. Just for the sake of interest, how many German politicians work for Russia in total?
S SO
Russia? From the jaws of defeat? As if not so! Wake up, Ukraine will never win!
John Bennett
Such articles make you yawn. All wars end sooner or later with a peace agreement — that's the Ukrainian conflict too. Sooner or later they will stop killing and maiming their youth. Putin will get almost everything he wanted, and everyone will go home. And this moment is just around the corner, just wait for Trump.
Sensum Communem
This is to be expected. Germany is basically a pro-Russian country. Give her cheap oil and gas, otherwise her industry will collapse. And if Ukrainian sovereignty is to pay the price for this, so be it.
Cricket Fan
And Putin was right! Western leaders don't have the guts. You can only scratch your tongue and do it! Shame on you!
Theodore Kojac
It's strange, read you, so yesterday Ukraine was winning, and today it's blowing again. You will decide there!
Alan Bowker
When the United States and its vassals began to tease the bear, it became a disaster.
And all because of the obsessive delusion that Ukraine/NATO will be able to win.
