German military aid for Ukraine to rise by $4.13B, source says
PHOTO CAPTION: A soldier of the special forces unit KSK of Germany's army Bundeswehr holds the Heckler & Koch assault rifle G95/HK416 during a training exercise in Calw, Germany, October 24, 2022. REUTERS/Heiko Becker
BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany plans to ramp up military aid for Ukraine by another 3.8 billion euros ($4.13 billion) this year, a source told Reuters on Tuesday, confirming a report by top-selling Bild.
So far, Berlin has earmarked 7.1 billion euros for supporting Kyiv with weapons and ammunition this year but the money has already been almost completely allocated to projects, the paper said.
"If we want to do more, we need more money," Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said when asked about Ukraine military funding during a visit to an air base in Latvia.
According to Bild, Pistorius had asked for the additional funds and Finance Minister Christian Lindner had signalled his backing, pending final approval by parliament in June.
A finance ministry source did not confirm the exact number but added that support for Ukraine would not fail because of the ministry.
According to the report, Pistorius has requested 15 billion euros be allocated for military aid for Kyiv in Germany's 2025 budget which is being negotiated at the moment.
($1 = 0.9200 euros)
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Maria Martinez and Christian Kraemer, Editing Thomas Seythal and Madeline Chambers)
