Scholz halts a new military aid package to Ukraine from Germany: what’s the reason behind this decision?

The German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius aim to provide Ukraine with billions of euros in new military aid. Chancellor Olaf Scholz believes that this is unnecessary, reported sources from Der Spiegel magazine.

The ministers sought to allocate around three billion euros for additional arms supplies to Ukraine before the Bundestag elections on February 23. Baerbock and Pistorius wanted to demonstrate that German military support for Ukraine would not abruptly cease.

Included in the list of armaments were three Iris-T air defense batteries with missiles, shells for the Patriot air defense system, ten wheeled howitzers, and artillery ammunition, according to sources from the publication.

The need for additional assistance was justified by the significant deterioration of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's position on the front in recent months and the acceleration of Russian troop offensives. An important factor was the possibility of Donald Trump winning the U.S. presidential elections: it remains unclear whether Washington will continue to support Kyiv after his inauguration on January 20.

According to Der Spiegel, the chancellor does not see urgency in providing additional military aid to Ukraine due to reluctance to place the future German government in a difficult position.

Olaf Scholz considers the 4 billion euros allocated in the country's budget for military aid to Kyiv in 2025 to be sufficient. Additionally, Ukraine can take advantage of a 50 billion dollar loan from the G7 countries, financed by revenues from frozen Russian assets.

Sources from the Social Democrats believe that the chancellor refrains from announcing arms supplies to Ukraine during the election campaign. He fears alienating potential SPD voters.

It is worth noting that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte believes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is "unfairly" criticizing Scholz for his delay in providing military assistance.

Scholz previously criticized Zelensky's victory plan and stated that the main idea is the impossibility of direct war between Russia and NATO.