BERLIN, March 5. /TASS/. Germany’s capabilities to supply weapons from its stockpiles to Ukraine have reached the limit, a German Defense Ministry spokesman told reporters.
"You know that there have already been such deliveries from the Bundeswehr's stockpiles to Ukraine. But the natural limit has been reached, as we are talking about strengthening Europe's own defense capability in the new existing conditions and cooperating with other countries to secure their advantageous positions," the spokesman said when asked about the chances of further deliveries to Kiev of such weapons as the Patriot missile defense system.
The strengthening of Europe’s own defense capabilities, according to the official, is taking place in parallel with the provision of support to Ukraine.
On March 4, the Christian Democratic Union, the Christian Social Union and the Social Democratic Party agreed to relax the debt brake - a rule that prohibits spending more money from the budget than it receives - in order to boost defense spending. Enshrined in the German constitution, the rule needs to be eased for all defense spending exceeding 1% of GDP. The parties intend to put up for a vote in the Bundestag next week an amendment to the constitution that would allow a substantial increase in debt to raise enough finance for the rising defense spending.
Germany is the second-largest arms supplier to Ukraine after the US. According to German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit, Germany has provided 44 billion euros in various assistance to Ukraine since the start of the conflict. In the 2025 budget proposal, the country allocated 4 billion euros for the support, half the amount it spent this year. However, the Bundestag has yet to greenlight the budget proposal.