German Foreign Minister Wadephul Acknowledges Military Aid Funding Shortfall for Ukraine

BERLIN, August 25. /TASS/. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has acknowledged a funding shortfall for military aid to Ukraine.

"There is indeed not enough money [to pay for weapons for Ukraine], that is true," Wadephul said on ARD television during a visit to Ukraine. He was responding to a journalist's question about whether Berlin should increase support amid an acute funding shortage despite being one of Kiev's key allies.

The German foreign minister said he had discussed the matter in detail with Ukraine's new defense minister. "I now need to pass this information on to Berlin and Brussels. Consultations with European foreign ministers, and especially with our [German] Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, will show what more we can do, what others can do, and which funds, perhaps already earmarked for next year, could be allocated a little earlier. This will once again become a shared task for many," Wadephul said.

At the same time, he noted he could not say for certain whether this would happen.

Russia has repeatedly said that arms supplies to the Kiev regime only prolong the conflict in Ukraine.