Germany greenlights record amount of weapons supplies in 2023

 Germany has approved weapons supplies worth a record 11.7 billion euros this year, with a third of all exports intended for Ukraine, the DPA news agency reported, citing a document.

The previous record was beat in 2021, when Berlin approved arms supplies to the tune of 9.35 billion euros, the German Economics Ministry said in a statement addressed to Sevim Dagdelen, a Bundestag member from the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht, seen by DPA. Thus, this year’s record exceeds the previous one by almost 25%, while the increase from last year stood at 40%.

According to the statement, of that sum, weapons supplies accounted for 6.15 billion euros, while other defense products made up for the remaining 5.67 billion euros. EU countries, NATO, Ukraine, Japan, Australia, South Korea and other countries, where "control over arms exports is carried out in the same way as in [NATO] allies," received almost 90% of those supplies. A third of all exports, worth 4.15 billion euros, approved between January 1 and December 12, 2023, was meant for Kiev. Other countries, including Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, received around 1.76 billion euros worth of weapons.

Dagdelen criticized the high defense export figures, saying that the government coalition might as well "finally start investing in necessary infrastructure and education in Germany" instead.

Germany’s 2024 budget envisages 8 billion euros in spending on more weapons for Kiev. Since February 2022, Berlin has provided Ukraine with humanitarian, financial and military assistance worth over 25 billion euros.