Germany spends up to EUR 8B supporting Ukrainian refugees – Scholz
Germany has allocated up to EUR 8 billion to support Ukrainian asylum seekers who have arrived since the onset of the full-scale war.
These figures were shared by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during comments to journalists regarding the outcomes of the European Council meeting, a Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“Our expenditure on supporting over one million refugees who have arrived in Germany amounts to approximately EUR 7-8 billion,” the Chancellor stated.
Scholz also noted that Germany has "delivered or pledged weapons, some of which will soon be delivered, totaling EUR 28 billion" and assured continued military support next year. He announced the upcoming delivery of another IRIS-T air defense system and additional Gepard systems, possibly as early as today. The anti-aircraft self-propelled guns are being sent with ammunition, which German industry has resumed producing.
Altogether, the total bilateral support provided by Germany amounts to EUR 37 billion, according to the Chancellor. In addition, Berlin is contributing further funding for Ukraine through the European Union.
As reported earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky participated in the European Council meeting on December 19, as well as a separate meeting of leaders from several European countries and NATO leadership in Brussels.