Germany votes in favor of Democrats' Ukraine aid proposal

The Bundestag has voted in favor of the proposal of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) on the issue of financing additional aid to Ukraine in the amount of €3 billion, party chairwoman Berbel Bas said on January 31.

"Who is voting in favor of this proposal? It is the faction of the Free Democratic Party, the faction of the Christian Democratic and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU). Who is voting against it? They are the Sarah Wagenknecht Union for Reason and Justice (SSV) group, the Left Party group and the Alternative for Germany (AdG) faction. Who abstained? They are the faction of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the faction of the Greens. Thus, the proposal was adopted," she said during a session of the German parliament, broadcast on the Bundestag website.

It follows from the text of the resolution that the financing of additional aid to Ukraine is hampered by the deficit in the preparation of the federal budget for 2025, the amount of which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz estimates at € 26 billion, while Finance Minister Jorg Kukis indicated that it is € 16 billion.

Arms rift: Germany's willingness to help Ukraine declines

Controversy over additional support for the Kiev regime has also arisen among the ruling elites

On the eve it became known that only 320 parliamentarians took part in the vote in the Bundestag on the allocation of additional € 3 billion in aid to Ukraine, which is less than half of the required number of voters, in connection with which the results were canceled.

The day before, the budget committee of the Bundestag (German parliament) had planned to seek approval for the allocation of additional €3 billion in cash for military aid to Ukraine. According to the committee members, the request was approved by representatives of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the FDP, who noted that the country's budget contains enough money for this aid to Kiev. At the same time, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Green Party abstained from voting.

On the same day, a German MP and deputy chairman of the CDU, Johann Wadeful, said that Ukraine should not count on deliveries of German Taurus cruise missiles until May as long as the old government remains in power. According to him, this is due to the fact that the current German Chancellor Olaf Scholz opposes the delivery of cruise missiles to Ukraine. Deputy Chairman of the CDU noted that Scholz only "creates the image of the Chancellor of peace", while the likely future head will be more active in helping Kiev.

Before that, on January 19, it was reported that representatives of German political parties criticized the possible provision of financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of € 3 billion. At the same time, MPs of the CDU also spoke out against the allocation of funds to the Ukrainian side.

Western countries have increased military and financial support for Ukraine against the background of Russia's special operation to protect Donbas, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 24 February 2022 after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.