German Armed Forces Lack Supplies Due To Berlins Military Aid To Kiev

Supplies for the German armed forces have decreased since Berlin started to provide military aid to Ukraine, German Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces Eva Hogl said on Saturday.

"The situation in the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) is such that since February 24 we have less material than before. Because, of course, a lot went to Ukraine to support it. Therefore, the material situation in the Bundeswehr is worse now," Hogl said in an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio station.

Hogl also said that it is necessary to accelerate the modernization of the German armed forces.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made multiple statements assuring that Berlin would supply Kiev with weapons for as long as necessary for its fight against Moscow in the military operation Russia launched in Ukraine in February 2022.

On October 22, German newspaper Spiegel obtained a letter by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Christine Lambrecht to the finance ministry in which the ministers asked for the disbursement of $2.2 billion in military aid for Ukraine in 2023, three times as much as was previously planned.

Western countries have been ramping up their military support for Kiev since February 24, when Russia began a military operation in Ukraine, following calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In April, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on the Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.