Germany this week began building a permanent military base abroad in Lithuania, near the border with Belarus, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Friday.
“This week in Lithuania, near the border with Belarus, the construction of barracks for the German army began, which will accommodate almost 4,000 Bundeswehr servicemen by 2027,” the publication informs.
As the FT notes, the launch of the project “was supposed to be a celebration of Berlin’s leadership role in strengthening European security”, but “turned out to be overshadowed by the uproar over the reduction of military support to Ukraine”.
Last weekend “Bild” newspaper, referring to confidential documents of the Ministry of Defense of Germany, reported that due to the adjustment of the budget, the agency is facing problems related to the possibility of continuing to provide assistance to Ukraine in the current volumes in the following years.
The publication noted that Ukraine, in particular, will not be able to obtain spare parts for the Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled guns, which Kyiv had previously requested.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, citing sources, informed that Germany plans to reduce military aid to Ukraine from 7.48 billion euros in 2024 to 4 billion euros in 2025. By 2027, the amount of these funds is planned at the level of 500 million euros.
According to the Kiel Institute of the World Economy, after the USA, Germany is the second country that allocated the most funds for military support to Ukraine.
