Germany to Reduce Aid to Ukraine; Russia Welcomes Trump's Election Ally's Stance

Germany plans to halve its military aid to Ukraine next year despite concerns over the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House and a possible reduction in U.S. support for Kyiv during his potential presidency. According to a draft budget for 2025 seen by Reuters, Germany's aid to Ukraine is set to decrease from about 8 billion euros in 2024 to 4 billion euros in 2025. Germany hopes Ukraine can meet a significant portion of its military needs through $50 billion loans from the profits of frozen Russian assets, which the G7 has approved. Meanwhile, Russia's Foreign Minister reacted to the introduction of JD Vance as Trump's potential vice-presidential pick, welcoming his positions on Ukraine. Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia is ready to cooperate with any U.S. leadership willing to engage in 'fair and mutually respectful dialogue.' Lavrov noted Vance's stance, saying, 'He wants peace, he wants to end the aid being given, and we can only welcome this [position] because this is what we need... stop filling Ukraine with weapons, then the war will end.' Vance's selection by Trump has raised concerns in Europe, as he aims to reduce U.S. military support for Ukraine in its war with Russia and has stated that Kyiv has no prospect of reclaiming all its occupied territories. About a month ago, leaders from 80 countries at a peace summit in Switzerland stated that Ukraine's territorial integrity should not be the basis for any peace agreement to end Russia's two-year invasion of its neighbor. Trump also drew criticism from Western officials when he implied that he would not protect countries that do not meet NATO's budgetary goals. Germany has not met NATO's budget goal of allocating 2% of its GDP for defense, leading to criticism. The Pentagon stated that its policy regarding restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine has not changed. On the second day of the Republican National Convention, Nikki Haley firmly defended Trump's hardline approach toward the Iranian government. Russia accused the United States of being a 'threat to the West' and 'obstructing' international cooperation; the U.S. called this claim 'hypocritical.' Zelensky stated that Ukraine needs more Patriots and F-16 aircraft.