As noted by the publication, the aid package was supposed to include three IRIS-T air defense systems, ammunition and missiles for the Patriot missile systems, 10 wheeled howitzers, and artillery shells.
According to Der Spiegel, it was planned that the government would submit a request for unplanned expenses to the parliamentary budget committee. In the justification for the request, the German Ministry of Defense and the Foreign Ministry explain that Ukraine's urgent needs could not have been anticipated in previous plans, the media reports. They believe that a commitment to a new aid package before the elections would signal to Kyiv that Berlin's support would not run dry.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that he "does not want to place the future federal government in a position where it has to deal with a fait accompli" and "sees no need for urgent action," sources from the publication emphasized.
According to the article, Scholz likely did not support the delivery of weapons due to concerns about the potential negative reaction from voters of his Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). On the other hand, the German Green Party is calling for an increase in defense spending, the publication adds. As reported by the publication's sources, support for this package has already been solicited from the Union faction in the Bundestag, but it has not expressed its position on this plan.
According to journalists' information, without the Chancellor's backing, this plan has no chance of being implemented.
Baerbock and Pistorius began working on a new tranche after the collapse of the ruling coalition in November 2024, sources from Der Spiegel claim. The ministers hoped to finalize the delivery of necessary arms to Kyiv before the federal elections in Germany on February 23.
As the authors of the article write, on January 9, allies of Ukraine gathered at the US Air Force base in Ramstein (Rhineland-Palatinate), where US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin urged partner countries to continue their support, while the Ukrainian delegation distributed an overview of the required arms among the gathered defense ministers.