Germany is establishing its first permanent military base overseas since World War II in Lithuania, close to the Belarus border, according to a Financial Times report.
The initiative aims to demonstrate Berlin’s commitment to European security, though it faces criticism due to reduced military support for Ukraine.
Recent reports reveal that Germany cut back on Ukrainian military aid because of funding shortages.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has declared that no further aid requests will be processed, except for those already approved, yet he affirmed Germany’s position as Ukraine’s largest European benefactor.
Russia contends that Western arms deliveries to Ukraine disrupt the peace process, implicating NATO countries, including the U.S., in the conflict through their support and training of Ukrainian forces.
Germany, the second-largest donor of aid to Ukraine, is set to reduce its military support by half in 2025, according to information from a parliamentary source reported by AFP on Saturday.
The government, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, plans to rely on funds from frozen Russian assets to sustain its support for Kyiv, without adding to the 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) already allocated in next year’s budget.
In 2023, Germany’s contribution reached 8 billion euros.
To offset the reduction, Germany intends to develop a financial tool in collaboration with the G7 and the European Union (EU) that utilizes the frozen Russian assets, as per another finance ministry source.
The German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung noted that this strategy stems from a consensus among Chancellor Scholz, his Social Democratic Party (SPD), and Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who is from the Liberal party, a smaller coalition partner.
