Germany to hike military spending in wake of Ukraine invasion

The German government pledged to boost military spending after defense chiefs laid bare the “extremely limited” resources of Europe’s biggest economies to help pushback against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Finance Minister Christian Lindner said it was time for a “turning point” in German defense investment, long a target of criticism by Western allies.

“I worry that we have neglected the armed forces so much in the past that it can’t completely fulfil its duties,” he told public television.

“Falling defense spending no longer fits with the times.”

Former defense minister under Angela Merkel, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, had earlier admitted Berlin was guilty of “historical failure” in not bolstering itself militarily.

She said Germany had forgotten lessons from the past that “negotiation always comes first, but we have to be militarily strong enough to make non-negotiation not an option for the other side.”