The German Ministry of Defense is asking the Ministry of Finance to allocate an additional €4B for the supply of weapons to Ukraine.

The head of the German Ministry of Defense, Boris Pistorius, is convinced that an additional €4B should be allocated from the budget to support Ukraine this year. About €7B has been allocated this year, and the bulk of those funds have been spent or are tied to contracts, leaving less than €200,000 for new deliveries in the year’s second half. Therefore, Pistorius turned to Finance Minister Christian Lindner for additional funding to purchase and ship more ammunition, critically needed spare parts, and possibly more Leopard 1A tanks to Ukraine this year. Instead, Lindner urged the government to save money.

Spiegel notes that excessive expenses, including a potential €4B for Ukraine, will not be easily accommodated by the Minister of Finance. However, the German Ministry of Defense considers it necessary to supply Ukraine with ammunition and spare parts to fuel its defense against the Russian Federation.

“We are currently working to raise additional funds so that we can operate this year,” Pistorius added.