Germany Pistorius wants to send a signal of support in Kiev
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) has arrived in Kiev for talks with the Ukrainian government to discuss further military support in the defensive struggle against Russia. "It is important for me to show with this trip that we continue to actively support Ukraine," Pistorius told the German Press Agency in Kiev.
14.01.2025, 08:12
SDA
"It is a signal that Germany, as the largest NATO country in Europe, stands by Ukraine. Not alone, but with the Group of Five and many other allies," he said. Russian troops invaded the neighboring country in February 2022.
A few days before US President Donald Trump took office, Pistorius had discussed further aid for Ukraine with his colleagues from Poland, France, Italy and Warsaw in Warsaw the previous evening. Together with four major European partners, Germany now wants to make greater efforts to strengthen the Ukrainian arms industry. "If the money is there, if the armaments capacities for production are there, then Ukraine itself will be the quickest to supply its own troops with material and weapons," said Pistorius while still in Poland.
The meetings of European defense ministers in a five-party format were set up after Trump's election victory. The aim is to strengthen European security and defense readiness.
With Trump as president, it is unclear where developments are heading
Before Trump takes office in the USA on January 20, it is unclear what will happen with Western support for Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly held out the prospect of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine quickly, but without his European allies being fully aware of his proposals - at least as far as is publicly known. There are fears in Ukraine that Trump could drastically reduce US aid and thus hand Kiev a defeat.
But there is also uncertainty about the details of further support from Germany - the largest donor in Europe. One reason for this is that the "traffic light" coalition has collapsed without having put together a budget.
Last week, "Der Spiegel" reported on an internal government dispute concerning further arms deliveries to Ukraine amounting to three billion euros. Pistorius and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) are in favor of this, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) sees no need for a further increase.
The hardships in Ukraine's struggle are becoming ever greater
At the beginning of the year, it was reported in Kiev that Russia had conquered almost 3,600 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory last year - an area almost 1.5 times the size of Saarland. Ukraine suffered its greatest territorial losses of 610 square kilometers in November, when the Russians occupied around 20 square kilometers a day. The losses in 2024 are a multiple of the previous year. It is therefore striking that the territorial losses for Kiev have increased significantly following its own summer offensive and the conquests in the western Russian region of Kursk.
At the same time, war fatigue is spreading and the number of Ukrainian deserters is rising rapidly. According to statistics from the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office, over 22,000 cases of desertion were registered in 2024. In addition, there were more than 62,000 cases of unauthorized absence from the troops. Compared to the previous year, this represents an almost threefold increase in the number of deserters and an almost fourfold increase in unauthorized absences. In total, almost 120,000 cases of desertion have been registered since the outbreak of war. Observers assume that the number of unreported cases is high.
If Ukraine is defeated: "Who's next"
Calls for a change of course on aid to Ukraine are also a topic in the election campaign in Germany. The fact that the political wrangling between the parties in Germany now has to move faster than planned ahead of the new Bundestag elections on February 23 could save the governing parties and the CDU/CSU some debate.
During the election campaign, Pistorius also warned against slackening support for Ukraine. He said: "If we do that tomorrow, it would be the end of Ukraine, a free, sovereign, democratic country, the day after tomorrow. And who will be next?"
