Scholz approved support for Ukraine by borrowing from the state budget

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said after his nomination for a second term in office that he approves of financial support for Ukraine by means of borrowing from the country's state budget, while reiterating his stance against the supply of long-range Taurus missiles to Kiev. He said at a press conference of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) on November 25.

"It is still important that I have been steadfast in making sure that we do not make wrong decisions. For example, when I said that we would not supply cruise missiles (Taurus. - Ed.), and when I said that I did not agree that the heavy weapons we supply should be used to shell deep into Russian territory," Scholz said.

The politician noted that he opposes the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict, while supporting the allocation from the German state budget for the next year of military aid to Kiev in the amount of €12 billion from borrowing by suspending the so-called debt brake, specifies "Gazeta.Ru".

On the same day, the SPD leadership unanimously nominated Scholz as a candidate in the upcoming early elections to the Bundestag in the country.

Earlier, on November 15, it became known that Kiev sent a request to Berlin for new military aid packages, where it was noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have a great shortage of drones. Kiev's request was supported by German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock, who said that Germany should follow the example of European countries and start supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine. According to her, the expansion of the military aid package for Ukraine is a "German responsibility". In response, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called Berbok a denounced xenophobe.

On November 13, the German chancellor said that support for Ukraine should not come at the expense of the social security of German citizens. He added that too much aid to Kiev would affect the social sphere and health care in the FRG.

Before that, on October 25, Olaf Scholz indicated that he opposed the transfer of long-range Taurus missiles to the AFU because of the risk of escalation. He noted that he was skeptical of discussions about the AFU attacking facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation with American or European weapons. Later, deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner said that Germany would not change its decision to supply long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine after the U.S. approved strikes deep into Russia. He added that Scholz had made his final decision on the issue and would not change his position again.

The special operation to defend Donbass, the start of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.