Germany's coalition government agreed this week to double the budget for military aid for Ukraine in 2024, Bild reported on Nov. 11, citing information from the German Defense Ministry.
While four billion euros ($4.3 billion) was the amount initially allocated for military aid for Ukraine in the draft 2024 budget, the government made the decision to increase that number to eight billion euros ($8.6 billion).
The news follows a Bild report on Oct. 22 that according to a confidential Defense Ministry memo, the government had not yet budgeted enough funds to be able to deliver sufficient military aid to Ukraine in 2024.
While the Finance Ministry had allocated four billion euros ($4.3 billion) for military support to Ukraine next year, the Defense Ministry had calculated that 3.1 billion euros ($3.3 billion) were already earmarked for projects that had already been announced, according to the German media outlet.
Another 770 million euros ($816 million) were to go to the Foreign Ministry's aid programs, leaving just 120 million for new military aid support to Ukraine in 2024.
The Defense Ministry was concerned that billions more would be needed in order to meet Ukraine's needs for military support.
The decision on the doubling of the funds for Ukraine's military aid will be officially decided on next week by the Budget Committee, Bild said.
Germany is the world's second provider of military aid to Ukraine after the United States.
Nate Ostiller
