German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday Europe must step up help for Ukraine – but stuck to his refusal to send long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv.
Scholz spoke after meeting British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Berlin, shortly after his counterpart announced the UK will increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by the end of the decade.
The two countries are Europe’s biggest suppliers of military assistance to Ukraine as it counters Russia’s full-scale invasion. Both vowed to keep that up “for as long as it takes”.
Ukraine’s cause was boosted this week when the US Congress finally approved a $61 billion (€57 billion) military aid package that was delayed for months. Scholz described it as “an encouraging and necessary signal”.
“But I also want to say clearly that the United States’ decision doesn’t release us here in Europe from the task of further expanding our support for Ukraine so that the country can defend itself against the aggressor,” he said.