The federal government intends to spend tens of billions of euros on military aid to Ukraine in the coming years. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said today after the decision that the budget committee of the Bundestag cleared the way for a bill that was only completed a few days ago and has a volume of almost twelve billion euros. According to the minister, this sum should be used to support the country attacked by Russia over the next nine to ten years. According to him, almost four billion euros of this sum will be earmarked for the replacement of material that the Bundeswehr has given to the Ukrainian armed forces. According to Pistorius, around 3.4 billion euros are for commitment appropriations and 400 million for current procurements.
Der mit acht Milliarden Euro größte Teil der Summe ist dem Minister zufolge für Waffen- und Materiallieferungen für die Ukraine in den kommenden Jahren vorgesehen. Man wolle damit deutlich machen, „dass wir weiter zur Unterstützung der Ukraine stehen“.
So far, 2.2 billion euros have been earmarked for the military training of partner states in the current year in the individual plan 60 of the federal budget, mainly for the Ukraine. According to press reports, which refer to a letter from the responsible State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance to the budget politicians, this sum should be increased by around 1.3 billion euros.
According to Pistorius, the funds planned for Ukraine must be saved elsewhere in the federal budget. The Minister of Finance will hold talks with the other ministries in the coming weeks.
The minister counted self-propelled howitzers, tanks and ammunition among the material to be procured again. When ordering Leopard 2 A7 main battle tanks, he expects the contract to be signed by the summer break. This was originally planned for the end of the year. "That was too slow for me," emphasized Pistorius. However, he assumes that the production of the combat vehicles will take a little more than two years. According to well-informed circles, these will be vehicles that will also have Trophy-type distance-active protection systems.
From the appointment of Annette Lehnigk-Emden as the new President of the Bundeswehr Procurement Office BAAINBw, about the esut.de today asfirst medium reportedthe minister expects more "drive" in the procurement process. He underlined that the new president had his support in restructuring structures to make the office faster and more effective.
Editorial / lh
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