Germany and its allies and partners stand united with Ukraine

A Message from The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany:

One week ago, Russian President Putin’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine shattered the European peace order. Putin’s war constitutes a flagrant breach of international law. It is an attack on our most basic values of freedom and democracy. It is inflicting enormous suffering on the people of Ukraine.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Germany and across Europe have taken to the streets to demonstrate against the war. But in this darkest hour for Ukraine, it is not enough to express our solidarity. We must act.

The German government has therefore responded by implementing unprecedented measures:

• Arms exports: Germany has supplied 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles from German Armed Forces stocks to Ukraine. We have also approved the delivery of former German or German-made weapons to Ukraine by Estonia and the Netherlands.

• Sanctions: In lockstep with the US, other NATO allies, the EU, and the G7, we have coordinated a package of massive sanctions against Russia during our G7 presidency. It is the largest ever set of sanctions against a country of this size. We know, this will come at a cost to us, too. We are ready to shoulder the burden. Freedom is priceless.

– The EU has cut off key Russian banks from the S.W.I.F.T. system.

– Russian banks and state-owned companies have been cut off from financing. The central bank, Russia’s single most important financial institution, will no longer be able to support its currency, the ruble.

– Export restrictions, including on high-tech products, will prevent Russia from participating in the economy of the future.

– We are also going after Russian oligarchs and Putin’s inner circle by seizing their assets. They won’t be able to hide their money in European safe havens anymore.

• Investing in defense: In order to protect our freedom and democracy, we need to be strong. In 2022, more than USD 110 billion will be earmarked in the German budget for our security and the modernization of our armed forces. From now on, we will annually spend more than 2 percent of our GDP on defense. This is a paradigm shift signifying no less than the end of Germany’s culture of military restraint.

• Supporting NATO: Germany will defend every inch of NATO territory. Together with our NATO allies, we are strengthening NATO’s eastern flank by deploying additional land, maritime, and air forces.

• Reducing energy dependence: In his historic speech last Sunday, Chancellor Scholz not only ushered in a paradigm shift in German foreign and defense policy, but also energy policy. He proposed concrete measures to reduce Germany’s energy dependency in the short and long term. We are building up storage capacities for natural gas. We are considering a coal reserve. Together with our partners, we are looking for alternative coal, gas, and oil suppliers. We will build two new LNG terminals and accelerate the shift to renewable energies.

• Humanitarian aid: With a major humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine and soon 1 million Ukrainians having to flee their home country, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock responded promptly: “We will take in all Ukrainians fleeing.” Germany has stepped up humanitarian aid significantly, with over USD 6 million for the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund and USD 11.2 million for the International Red Cross. Germany is the largest bilateral donor of civilian assistance to Ukraine, having spent more than USD 2 billion since 2014, including humanitarian assistance.

In this watershed moment, Germany, the EU, and our transatlantic partners have drawn even closer together. We stand united with Ukraine.

The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany

Washington, DC