German Rolls Out $2.95 Billion Arms Package for Ukraine

  |  
May 16, 2023

In the middle of May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky paid a visit to European leaders across the nation

“An important visit for approaching victory of Ukraine!” Zelensky said in a  tweet after arriving in EU and NATO member Italy on May 13, 2023. He had a 70 minute meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in which he thanked her for “for helping to save lives”. After that, he held a meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican, in an effort to reportedly lobby the religious leader to back Ukraine’s peace plan.

Zelensky subsequently traveled to Germany on May 14, the day after German authorities confirmed the large defense aid package. For his part, Zelensky has continued to call for more military aid. The New York Times reported the following:

“Speaking to journalists side by side at the chancellery on Sunday morning, Mr. Zelensky and Chancellor Olaf Scholz traded remarks of gratitude and praise. But their responses to some questions — namely on fighter jets — reflected that Kyiv is still struggling to gain traction with Berlin and other Western allies on some of its key demands.”

Zelensky wrote on Twitter during his visit to Berlin on May 14: “German air defense systems, artillery, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles are saving Ukrainian lives and bringing us closer to victory,” and stressed: “Germany is a reliable ally!”

Germany is playing a dangerous game here. While there are legitimate questions about Germany’s historical over-reliance on Russia for its energy needs, owing in large part due to its pro-green policies that have greatly weakened its energy sector, it should not blindly fray its relations with Russia to appease its NATO overlords. 

Instead, it should pursue a more realist foreign policy that entertains both Western and Eurasian actors. On top of that, it needs to get its energy house in order. 

Overall, Germany needs a new ruling class that’s nationalist in orientation that rejects globalism and domestic policy prescriptions that weaken its energy sector.

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