German leaders plan to halve aid to Ukraine just as Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election looks increasingly likely.

Germany, which overcame its initial reluctance to support Ukraine to become the country’s biggest European supplier of military aid, looks poised to change course as the finance minister said the government would slash future assistance by half in order to fulfill other spending priorities.

That appeared to be Berlin’s unequivocal message to Ukraine on Wednesday as the government detailed its preliminary 2025 budget, in which military aid to Ukraine is slated to be cut by half to just €4 billion, according to a draft seen by POLITICO.

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  • azuth@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    4 months ago

    There is no Europe entity. There’s the EU and NATO with Ukraine not being a member in any of them.

    I don’t have any more special connection to Ukrainians than you have because I am European. They are foreigners to me just as they are to you. This goes for most Europeans except maybe for Slavic people.

    The rest support Ukraine for the same reasons the US do. Because Russia is a geopolitical rival. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is immoral but it’s not the actual reason for any support of Ukraine. EU countries and the US can live happily with people getting massacred in other countries with Gaza being the most prominent but far from the only example.

    So Germany will support Ukraine up to the point its not inconvenient for them. They don’t have any special kinship nor any legal obligation to assist more.

    If Russia had performed better in the war Germany probably would feel urged to spend more both in Ukraine to win time to rearm itself. As things stand, Russia cannot threaten Germany and whether it occupies parts of Ukraine is not the end of the world (for Germany).

    The US won’t “stop funding the defense” of EU or Taiwan or any other country. That’s the basis of US power. Trump might be compromised, other right wongers might be interested in trading USA’s dominance in the world for remaking of according to their fantasies but they are going to meet pushback from the establishment, including right wingers, including the military. Not going to be alright in any sense but the US military won’t just withdraw.