A scandal is brewing in Germany’s Defense Ministry under Boris Pistorius (SPD) due to discrepancies in funding for military aid to Ukraine. As a result, Kyiv may receive nearly a billion euros less than officially promised.
Just two weeks ago, on June 12, Pistorius visited Kyiv, met with Volodymyr Zelensky, and solemnly pledged an additional €1.9 billion in aid to Ukraine, including long-range missile deliveries. At the time, the German Defense Ministry stated that total military assistance in 2025 could reach €9 billion, pending approval from the Bundestag. A week later, on June 18, the ministry confirmed these figures: €7.3 billion had already been approved by parliament, with another €1.9 billion in the approval process—bringing the total to €9.2 billion.
However, on June 24, the German government approved its 2025 budget draft, allocating only €8.3 billion for Ukraine—€900 million less than Pistorius had promised. In response to media inquiries, the Defense Ministry claimed that nothing had changed and that aid to Ukraine would “remain at around €9 billion,” with the difference to be covered by additional funding sources. A ministry spokesperson clarified that the €1.9 billion for missile systems was already included in the €8.3 billion figure, even though the ministry had previously published a straightforward calculation: 7.3 + 1.9 = 9.2.
According to government sources, the Defense Ministry had initially requested only €8.3 billion, planning to cover the shortfall through co-financing and reimbursements from the European Peace Facility. If these schemes fall through, Germany will either have to find additional funds or reduce aid to Ukraine. Politicians have already expressed confusion: Green Party representative Sebastian Schäfer demanded that the government urgently clarify where the missing billions would come from, stressing that Ukraine needs actual weapons deliveries, not just promises. For now, it appears that Berlin either failed to coordinate its plans within the ruling coalition or initially made inflated promises to Kyiv.
