Germany pledges to provide Ukraine with €9bn annually

Germany has pledged to provide Ukraine with €9 billion annually over the next few years.

As reported by Ukrainian news agency Interfax-Ukraine, prior to that, Lars Klingbeil, German Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Finance, and Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko discussed options for continued support for Ukraine.

"As finance minister, I made clear – and this was agreed by the federal government – that we will provide Ukraine with €9 billion in annual support over the coming years," Klingbeil said at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Upon arriving in Kyiv on the morning of 25 August, Klingbeil said that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin must understand that Germany's support for Ukraine will not waver.

Earlier, Klingbeil disagreed with Markus Söder, Bavarian Prime Minister from the Christian Social Union, who called for Ukrainian refugees to be stripped of access to social benefits.

The vice-chancellor also justified a significant increase in German military spending, saying it was necessary to counter the threat from the Russian leader.