In Berlin, it seems that all doubts about continued support for Ukraine have been dispelled. However, political opposition is growing.
Since the war in Iran, fears have grown in Ukraine that the war in the country could be pushed into the background. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump wants a quick peace deal between Russia and Ukraine and has sharply reduced US aid. As a result, the role of Germany and other European countries is growing.
After Viktor Orban's election defeat in Hungary on Sunday, there is expected to be less resistance from Europe to continued support for Ukraine. And at German-Ukrainian government consultations in Berlin on Tuesday, the federal government is expected to provide reassurance: Germany can be relied on.
What is the situation?
After the US, Germany is by far the second largest bilateral donor to Ukraine. The German government has supported Ukraine with almost 100 billion euros since the beginning of the war (data up to the beginning of 2026). Germany provides military, financial, technical and humanitarian assistance. This also includes accepting more than a million Ukrainian refugees.
Military aid
According to its own data, the German government has provided Ukraine with military aid worth around 55 billion euros or has made it available for the coming years (until December 31, 2025).
This includes supplies of equipment and weapons from the armaments of the German Armed Forces, as well as state-funded supplies from industry. It covers the entire military spectrum: from anti-aircraft weapons, artillery and combat vehicles, such as tanks, to firearms and medical supplies.
Moreover, since the beginning of the war, Germany has trained more than 24.000 Ukrainian soldiers on German territory.
However, during the war the focus has clearly changed. For example, battle tanks, which Germany supplied Ukraine only after much hesitation, today play almost no significant role. Instead, combat drones dominate military operations. Combat drones for Ukraine also come from Germany or are produced by German companies in Ukraine.
The question, debated for years, whether Germany should send Taurus missiles with warheads to Ukraine is no longer on the table, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Ukraine now has its own long-range weapons, the chancellor declared at the end of March during a government question-and-answer session in the Bundestag. Ukraine is 'better armed today than ever before'. The problem is rather a lack of funds, an area in which Germany nevertheless wants to help.
Civil and humanitarian aid
Germany's bilateral civilian aid (in addition to aid provided within the EU framework) amounts to around 39 billion euros, according to government figures. This includes all non-military aid that strengthens the resistance and functioning of the Ukrainian state.
One of the main priorities is energy supplies, which Russia is attacking with increasing intensity. In total, since the start of the war, the German government has provided more than 1.2 billion euros in aid to the energy sector alone, making it the second largest donor in this area after the US.
On the one hand, this includes repairs and emergency measures at destroyed facilities. On the other hand, German experts are working with Ukrainian partners on the reconstruction of energy infrastructure, focusing on energy efficiency and the expansion of renewable energies.
Humanitarian aid activities are funded in close cooperation with international and non-governmental organizations, ensuring that medical care, food, drinking water and other emergency aid reach people quickly, especially those near the front lines.
Support for refugees
More than a million Ukrainian refugees, mainly women and children, have found shelter in Germany since the start of the war. The German government supports the federal states and local authorities in accommodating and caring for these people, for example through direct financial assistance or by making federally owned buildings available for housing.
Refugees are supported, for example, with German language courses, further education and integration programs, as well as support in finding employment. According to data from the Institute for Employment Research in February 2026, about half of Ukrainian refugees of working age are employed.
Reconstruction and reforms
The German government is already planning the reconstruction of Ukraine together with Ukraine and partners from the EU and the G7. This should be accompanied by a modernization of the state and the economy and take into account Ukraine's EU accession process, which Germany supports in principle.
Several international conferences on reconstruction (Ukrainian Recovery Conference, URC) have already been held, including one in Germany in 2024. In 2026, Poland will host the URC. The conference is expected to be held in late June in Gdansk.
Resistance from the right and the left
Not everyone in Germany agrees with the form and extent of support for Ukraine. If even more is demanded of Germany in the future, due to the increasing US withdrawal from aid to Ukraine, resistance is likely to grow even more.
Resentment among the German population towards Ukrainian refugees is relatively low, partly because these people are considered relatively well-integrated. However, there is criticism that Ukrainian refugees were immediately given basic income, instead of the reduced benefits for asylum seekers.
As a result, in the coalition agreement, the CDU/CSU and SPD agreed that refugees who enter Germany after April 1, 2025, will receive reduced benefits in the future.
Among German parties in the political center, there is a general consensus on support for Ukraine. The situation is different on the far right and the far left. Both the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is partly far right, and, to some extent, the Left Party, view this support critically and call for closer ties with Russia.
The main argument is that, given the empty coffers and high debt, there is not enough money for either Ukraine or the German population, and that Germany must once again rely on cheap energy from Russia.
This type of reasoning is gaining ground precisely because of the high fuel prices caused by the war in Iran. The federal government's main concern is that the AfD, in particular, could benefit from this in the regional elections in September, in the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony-Anhalt./DW/
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