The government in Berlin will pay the German military-industrial complex to produce weapons for Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday after talks with G7 members. He added that the Bundeswehr has no weapons left to spare for Kiev from its own stockpiles, and will need a large-scale rearmament program.
“We initially supplied Ukraine with weapons from our stocks. Now we must recognize that our capabilities have reached their limits,” Scholz said. “Therefore, we are creating a special fund so that our army, after many years of savings, will finally be well-armed, and we are investing on a large scale in the Bundeswehr’s capabilities.”
Germany is in full agreement with the EU and NATO allies that Russia should not win the war, Scholz said after a phone conversation with US President Joe Biden and the leaders of the EU and G7. To continue arming Kiev, Berlin will allow Ukraine to buy the weapons it needs from German and other Western military manufacturers, for example artillery and other heavy armaments, Scholz said.
“We will provide the money necessary for the purchase,” Scholz said. “Our common goal is to continue to arm the Ukrainian military so that it can continue to defend itself against [Russian] attack.”