Germany’s Scholz slams EU allies over "insufficient" military aid for Ukraine

PHOTO CAPTION: Ukrainian snipers take part in military exercises at a firing ground of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, January 17, 2022. REUTERS/Anna Kudriavtseva

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday the majority of countries in the European Union were not delivering sufficient weapons to Ukraine to help it battle a Russian invasion, calling upon allies to increase their efforts.

With American military assistance to Ukraine stalled in the U.S. Congress, Scholz insisted on the need for Europe to step up, repeating his mantra that the German government would support Kyiv for as long as necessary.

Germany itself had come under much criticism in the early months of Russia's invasion for failing to step up and provide the leadership and military backing to Kyiv expected of one of Europe's major powers.

It is now, however, one of the top providers of both weapons and financial aid. Late last year it agreed to double the country's military aid for Ukraine in 2024 to 8 billion euros ($8.8 billion).

"As significant as the German contribution is, it will not be enough to ensure Ukraine's security in the long run," Scholz said at a news conference in Berlin.

"Therefore I call on allies in the European Union to strengthen their efforts regarding Ukraine. The planned weapons deliveries to Ukraine of most EU member states are not enough," he added.

Scholz said Berlin had asked the EU to check with individual member states what deliveries they were planning as not all perhaps were known.

The chancellor said he was confident the bloc would agree its proposed 50 billion-euro aid package for Ukraine at an upcoming emergency summit on Feb. 1. The EU failed to agree on the deal at an EU summit in December due to opposition from Hungary.

($1 = 0.9111 euro)



(Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Sarah Marsh, Editing by Victoria Waldersee and Jonathan Oatis)