Stopping Ukraine support will fuel war crimes in other countries - Baerbock
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Getty Images)
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock defended Western arms supplies to Ukraine and warned of the consequences of reducing support for Kyiv in its fight against Russian aggression, citing her speech at the UN General Assembly in New York.
The minister said that stopping arms deliveries would not lead to peace, but would only worsen the situation.
"If Russia stops attacking, the war is over. If Ukraine stops defending itself, Ukraine is over," she emphasized, referring to the principles of the UN Charter and the need for Security Council reform.
Baerbock also noted that withholding support for Ukraine would lead to an increase in war crimes.
"As long as Putin is not willing to come to the negotiating table, stopping our support for self-defense would simply mean leaving Ukrainian children's hospitals defenseless. It would mean more war crimes, not less, possibly in other countries too," she said.
German aid to Ukraine
In August, the media reported that, by order of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, new requests for funding aid to Ukraine would not be approved. For 2024, the German government has already allocated around 8 billion euros for military support to Ukraine, and the 2025 budget of 4 billion euros has been fully distributed.
However, in September, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius expressed hope that the government could find additional resources to continue supplying arms to Ukraine in 2024.
On September 19, Germany announced a new military aid package for Ukraine, which includes various types of weapons and equipment.
Also, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently held closed-door talks.
