Ukraine says it will need $120bn in defence funding in 2026 to stave off Russia\u2019s more than three-year war.<\/p>\n
Published On 15 Oct 202515 Oct 2025<\/p>\n
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Germany has pledged more than $2bn in military aid for Ukraine, as the government in Kyiv signalled that it would need $120bn in 2026 to stave off Russia\u2019s nearly four-year all-out war.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Wednesday at a Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Brussels, German Foreign Minister Boris Pistorius said that Western allies must maintain their resolve and provide more weapons to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou can count on Germany. We will continue and expand our support for Ukraine. With new contracts, Germany will provide additional support amounting to over 2 billion euros [$2.3bn],\u201d Pistorius told the meeting in Brussels, which was also attended by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe package addresses a number of urgent requirements of Ukraine. It provides air defence systems, Patriot interceptors, radar systems and precision guided artillery, rockets and ammunition,\u201d Pistorius said, adding that Germany will also deliver two additional IRIS-T air defence systems to Ukraine, including a large number of guided missiles and shoulder-fired air defence missiles.<\/p>\n
In recent months, the transatlantic alliance started to coordinate regular deliveries of large weapons packages to Ukraine to help fend off Russia\u2019s war.<\/p>\n
Spare weapons stocks in European arsenals have all but dried up, and only the United States has a sufficient store of ready weapons that Ukraine most needs.<\/p>\n
Under the financial arrangement \u2013 known as the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) \u2013 European allies and Canada are buying US weapons to help Kyiv keep Russian forces at bay. About $2bn worth had previously been allocated since August.<\/p>\n
Germany\u2019s pledge came as Ukraine\u2019s Western backers gathered to drum up more military support for their beleaguered partner.<\/p>\n
Shmyhal put his country\u2019s defence needs next year at $120bn. \u201cUkraine will cover half, $60bn, from our national resources. We are asking partners to join us in covering the other half,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Air defence systems are most in need. Shmyhal said that last month alone, Russia \u201claunched over 5,600 strike drones and more than 180 missiles targeting our civilian infrastructure and people\u201d.<\/p>\n
The new pledges of support came a day after new data showed that foreign military aid to Ukraine had declined sharply recently. Despite the PURL programme, support plunged by 43 percent in July and August compared to the first half of the year, according to Germany\u2019s Kiel Institute, which tracks such deliveries and funding.<\/p>\n
Hegseth said that \u201call countries need to translate goals into guns, commitments into capabilities and pledges into power. That\u2019s all that matters. Hard power. It\u2019s the only thing belligerents actually respect.\u201d<\/p>\n