Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Germany and Scholz for their “strong support” for Ukraine, and also for fresh pledges for funding in 2025.
At a meeting with Zelenskyy in Berlin, Scholz announced a €1.4 billion ($1.53 billion) military aid package by the end of 2024.
“We need to think about next year, and to think about keeping up the level of support,” Zelenskyy said.
The packed, with support from Belgium, Denmark and Norway, includes more air defense systems, self-propelled Gepard anti-
aircraft guns, tanks, armored vehicles, combat drones, artillery ammunition and radar.
Scholz added a comprehensive military support package worth €600 million euros had been recently delivered to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said German assistance in areas like air defense “saves thousands of Ukrainian lives and gives our villages and cities a chance to protect ourselves.”
He noted more advanced weaponry Germany sent, often after some internal delays and discussions, including IRIS-T surface-to-air missile systems and “Gepard” or “Cheetah” armored vehicles.
Zelenskyy said his country wanted a “just peace” and “victory” against Russia, and, like Scholz, accused Russia of having no interest in talks.
“We see that Russia is not interested in honest diplomacy or in ending this war according to the UN statutes.
“We demand a just peace for Ukraine, a victory for us, and that is what we are working on every day,” he said.
He said that, to this end, he wanted to present Scholz with Kyiv’s plan “as to how we believe we can force Russia to agree to peace and end this war.”
“We would like this to happen next year, 2025,” he said but also said “we have to build a bridge to a peace summit that generates results that can draw a line under this war.”
He concluded by saying he believed that “together with our partners,” this plan could be realized, and “we are counting on German support.”
Germany’s 2024 budget earmarks €7.1 billion for Ukraine military assistance in 2024, and foresees €4 billion for 2025.
