Spiegel: Germany wants to increase defense aid to Ukraine

Germany is looking to boost military aid to Ukraine to more than 15 billion euros in "the coming years", der Spiegel reported on March 27.

According to der Spiegel, which has allegedly obtained a letter from the Ministry of Finance to the budget committee of the Bundestag, the funding would go to procuring air defense, armored fighting vehicles, ammunition for weapons systems supplied by Germany, and artillery.

The additional costs are "objectively unavoidable," the allegedly letter states, "because without continued support, there is a serious risk that Ukraine will lose its defensive struggle against the Russian aggressor, with unpredictable consequences for the European peace order."

On March 27, Germany followed through on their pledge and transferred 18 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, along with roughly 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles and "a large package" of weapons and spare parts.

Ukraine war latest: EU, NATO condemn Putin’s nuclear threats, Kyiv calls for UN Security Council meeting

Key developments on March 26: * EU, NATO denounce Putin’s threat to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus * Ukraine calls for emergency UN Security Council meeting * US sees no signs Russia moved nuclear weapons to Belarus * Military: Vuhledar ‘completely razed to the ground,’ battle for B…

Kyiv IndependentThaisa Semenova