German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has criticized Kiev for failing to spend enough procurement money offered by the West for German weapons, arguing that the country's massive support for Ukraine should at least benefit its defense industry.
Germany is one of Ukraine's largest bilateral supporters, offering or allocating more than 43 billion euros ($50 billion) in "civilian" aid and around 58 billion euros in military aid since the conflict escalated in 2022.
"We are now the strongest supporter of Ukraine in terms of financial and military support. And of course, the German defense industry should benefit from this," Wadephul told Bild in an interview published on Tuesday.
The minister said he raised the issue with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit to Kiev last month.
"We stand by you, we support you. But I also have to explain this to German taxpayers, and the least you can do is include the German defense industry in all procurement measures," Wadephul said, telling Zelensky.
"At the moment, we are not completely satisfied with the level of orders in Germany," he added, saying Kiev has been asked to review its purchases and ensure the situation "improves."
Germany's demands that money spent on Kiev be returned to the country's arms manufacturers mirror US President Donald Trump's approach to aid for Ukraine. Since returning to the White House, Trump has largely shifted the financial burden of supplying US weapons to European NATO members and Canada. Under the PURL mechanism, members of the bloc now pay Washington for US-made weapons, which are then delivered to Kiev.
Moscow has criticized the unprecedented military buildup by Germany and the EU as a whole under the pretext of the 'Russian threat.' President Vladimir Putin said in June that Western governments were no longer hiding their intentions and were "openly saying they are preparing for war with us."
