Poland urges Germany to raise defense budget: Trump will cut aid to Kyiv

Tomczyk also supported exploring new funding schemes, such as issuing joint EU bonds to finance military expenditures, which "will allow us to buy more and be even better prepared" in the face of Russia's growing belligerence. Berlin has opposed the issuance of joint bonds.

"Europe today is in a leadership crisis," the Polish Deputy Defense Minister said. "We should demand more from the center of Europe, especially from Germany."

Poland's frustration with its western neighbor has arisen amid concerns that Donald Trump's return to the White House will cut military aid to Ukraine to push Kyiv into a ceasefire with Russia.

Trump has also questioned his country's support for other NATO allies unless they meet the target of spending 2% of their economic output on defense. While Warsaw remains the alliance's top spender, its large-scale military buildup will likely burden its budget.

Warsaw will allocate a record 186.6 billion zloty ($46.4 billion) for defense this year, or 4.7% of its GDP. Germany, which remains the largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine in the EU, will spend 2.1% of its GDP this year, or €72 billion ($75.9 billion), according to the Ministry of Defense.

"It really doesn't happen often that the Poles tell the Germans: 'you need to do more on arms'," Tomczyk said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised to maintain the increase in military spending after the country reached NATO's target for the first time. Berlin created a special three-year fund with debt financing of €100 billion ($105.4 billion) to cover the costs of strengthening its armed forces.

'Red Lines'

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius rejected complaints that Germany had done too little, stating that his government is second only to the US in supporting Ukraine. He promised to increase spending steadily and called the special fund "the first step" in supporting expenditures.

German officials, including its foreign intelligence chief, Bruno Kahl, warned that Vladimir Putin is determined to "test the West's red lines" and will be ready for a military confrontation with NATO by the end of the decade. This is another reason to push Berlin to act, Tomczyk said.

"You can hear that Germany is expecting a war, that plans are being developed and that it has several years to prepare," he said. "In such case, I would suggest that the time is up to really start preparing."

Tomczyk is leading the government's efforts in the ministry to allocate at least 10 billion zloty ($2.5 billion) to strengthen Poland's border with Belarus and the Russian Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad. Warsaw has requested EU funding for this plan, which includes building anti-tank barriers, trenches, and fortifications.

Last week, the EU's new defense commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, introduced a new joint borrowing mechanism for military expenditures as part of a plan to raise around €500 billion ($526.9 billion) for security over the next decade.

While Russia is waging war in Ukraine, several governments that previously opposed joint borrowing have begun to push for it.

Tomczyk said that joint procurement of large amounts of military equipment by EU member states could open a window of opportunity for more advantageous operations with the US administration. But decisions require urgency.

"It is absolutely necessary for the union to be a living organism that responds to threats," he said. "It cannot be that the diagnosis of the problem takes several years, and the next years are spent thinking about a solution."

Earlier, newly elected US President Donald Trump stated that Ukraine will receive less aid after he comes to power.