Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has brought immeasurable suffering to millions of people. The war is directly affecting not only Ukrainian soldiers who are defending their homeland and Europe’s security on the front lines, but also the civilian population, including elderly people, women and children. The Russian armed forces’ targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure, including on the power plants that produce heat and electricity, as well as on the water supply, are particularly perfidious. Russia is thereby attempting to wear down the people in Ukraine and deprive them of what they need to live. This is why the German Government is giving top priority to providing swift assistance to the Ukrainians in these fields.

So that Ukraine can protect itself and defend our peace in Europe, the German Government has, since the start of the war, made available around 43.62 billion euro in bilateral support for Ukraine (as of 31 December 2024); this aid includes the critical area of air defence, a substantial winter assistance programme and energy assistance, help for those who have fled Ukraine, humanitarian assistance, mine clearance operations and assistance with efforts to investigate and document war crimes. Furthermore, Ukraine and Germany signed a bilateral agreement on security cooperation on 16 February 2024.

For a regularly updated overview of bilateral support, click here .

Military support for Ukraine

Ukraine must be able to defend itself against Russia’s war of aggression, which violates international law. Germany is therefore supporting Ukraine by supplying arms and equipment, from its Bundeswehr stockpiles and from defence industry deliveries that are paid for out of the German Government’s budget. When providing this assistance, the German Government tailors its aid to the needs of Ukraine and continuously explores where it can step up its assistance, e.g. with regard to air defence. To date, German assistance has included three PATRIOT systems, six IRIS-T SLM and five IRIS-T SLS air defence systems, and 57 Gepard self-propelled armoured air defence gun systems including 241,000 ammunition rounds.

In the EU, agreement was reached on the establishment of European Peace Facility (EPF) support measures for the armed forces of Ukraine to the tune of 5.5 billion euro. These measures take the form of a refinancing mechanism for equipment supplied on a bilateral basis and repair services provided by the EU Member States. Member States contribute to this on the basis of a cost share formula that reflects their respective gross national income. Germany’s contribution for the time period of 2022-2027 amounts to approximately 1.4 billion euro. Mandatory contributions totalling 506 million euro have already been paid. In March 2024, a decision was taken to establish the Ukraine Assistance Fund within the EPF, and the target for its initial volume was set at an additional 5 billion euro by the year 2027.

For a current overview of military support click here .

Political support and peace efforts

We are convinced that, for there to be sustainable peace, Ukraine must be strong. For this, our support is crucial. At the same time, we have for a long time been making every effort, together with our partners, to bring about peace through a diplomatic agreement. President Zelensky already presented a Peace Formula in November 2022 that contains key elements for a lasting and just peace, based on international law. We are discussing the various aspects of a solution for peace, including security guarantees for Ukraine, in a number of international forums – be it in Ukraine’s own Peace Formula process, in NATO, the G7, the EU or the Berlin format that last met in early December. The precise role that the various elements will ultimately play in a peace process will and must depend on what form Ukraine decides the process should take. We believe that peace cannot be reached without consulting the Ukrainians and Europeans.

Humanitarian assistance, support for the energy sector and winter relief

As the second-largest donor worldwide and the largest donor in the EU, the Federal Foreign Office provides humanitarian assistance support to humanitarian partner organisations in Ukraine and Ukraine’s neighbouring countries, to alleviate the severe suffering of the population caused by Russia’s war of aggression. Germany has again provided funds totalling 235 million euro to support the people of Ukraine during the cold winter months. All in all, the Federal Foreign Office has made available more than 1.3 billion euro in humanitarian assistance since February 2022.

We and our partners are also providing assistance to those who had to stay behind near the front lines – such as the elderly, the seriously ill or people with disabilities – as well as to internally displaced persons all across Ukraine. We are placing a special focus on mental and psychosocial support for Ukrainians, as well as assistance in the case of gender-based and sexual violence.

Another focus of our support is Ukraine’s energy sector, which is being expressly targeted by Russian attacks. Germany is, for example, the largest bilateral donor to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund of the Energy Community, a European organisation. One area in which the German Government is providing support is emergency energy assistance – thus ensuring that the population is supplied with electricity, heat and water. This includes repairs, additional capacity for electricity generation and protecting the infrastructure. We also work with Ukrainian partners to rebuild a decentralised, environmentally friendly energy infrastructure, with a focus on energy efficiency and the expansion of renewable energy.

Additional funding of support through windfall profits and G7 loans

In reaction to Russia’s attack on Ukraine violating international law, assets of the Russian state in the EU were immobilised. It is clear that Russia will have to pay for the damage it has caused in Ukraine with its war. The UN General Assembly emphatically reaffirmed this duty based on the principle of state responsibility recognised under customary international law in a resolution adopted on 14 November 2022.

Furthermore, the G7 Heads of State and Government agreed back at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in 2023 to release immobilised assets only once Russia has paid for the damage in Ukraine. In the meantime, the EU has agreed on a regulation to skim off the windfall profits of the central securities depositories. The regulation on windfall profits adopted by the EU has a solid foundation in EU law and is in accordance with international law. On the basis of this, the G7 announced on 25 October 2024 its agreement to make available to Ukraine a G7 loan totalling around 45 billion euro (50 billion US dollars) using the windfall profits.

Documenting war crimes

With its war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia is also committing severe violations of international humanitarian law and massive human rights abuses in Ukraine, such as the killing and torture of civilians. The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has promptly initiated investigations. Germany is supporting these investigations, both financially and by seconding experts. The German Government is also assisting the Ukrainian authorities in this regard, for example by helping them obtain forensic equipment.

Germany supports the Register of Damage that the Council of Europe agreed to establish at its summit meeting in Reykjavík (16 and 17 May 2023). The Register’s purpose is to document the damage caused by the Russian war of aggression. It has its seat in The Hague and took up its work at the beginning of February 2024. Germany provides financial support – so far, approximately 1 million euro – and has seconded one expert to assist in its work. In mid-December 2024, the Register issued its first decision: 832 submitted residential property claims (loss or damage) were declared to be justified and officially recorded in the Register. The claims relate, among other things, to houses and apartments in the city of Bakhmut and in Donetsk Oblast.

An unprecedented sanctions regime

For as long as Russia continues to brutally attack Ukraine, there must be consequences. Germany and its European partners have responded by imposing massive and unprecedented sanctions, i.e., by restricting Russian access to capital markets, imposing substantial export bans, especially in the spheres of advanced technology, industry and energy infrastructure, placing a price cap on Russian oil exports to third countries, imposing wide-ranging import bans, e.g. on Russian coal, oil, iron and steel products, as well as gold and diamonds from Russia, taking tough measures targeting Russia’s aviation sector, and directly sanctioning Russia’s President Putin, Foreign Minister Lavrov, further political and military decision-makers, war criminals, propagandists and the network of oligarchs that supports them. EU sanctions also target Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ and its networks of third countries for circumventing sanctions, so that Russia’s income and supply with goods needed for the war are further curtailed.
For more on the sanctions that are currently in effect, click here.

Reconstruction and humanitarian assistance

The German Government, together with Ukraine and our partners in the EU and the G7, is already now beginning to plan how Ukraine can rebuild. In December 2022, the G7 countries and Ukraine agreed to establish an international Donor Coordination Platform for the country’s reconstruction. Although reconstruction will require significant international efforts, it also presents a great opportunity to invest in Ukraine’s future, that is, to modernise the state and the economy, bring about ecological transformation and, not least, to implement national reforms and make progress towards EU accession.

On 11 and 12 June 2024, Germany and Ukraine co-hosted an international gathering in Berlin, the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2024). After Lugano in 2022 and London in 2023, this was the first URC to be held in an EU Member State since the start of the war of aggression. More than 3400 participants from 60 countries met under the conference heading “United in defence. United in recovery. Stronger together” and helped support Ukraine by, among other things, signing 110 agreements and arrangements.

Find out more about the reconstruction of Ukraine here.

Tremendous willingness to help

Many people in Germany have strong sympathy for the fate of the people in Ukraine, and the tremendous willingness to help is also reflected in civil society. The large number of donated items has resulted in aid organisations needing to do a significant amount of coordination work. The German Government therefore supports the appeal to refrain from donating items and whenever possible to donate money to established aid organisations instead. Donations can be made via Aktion Deutschland Hilft and the Disaster Relief Alliance (“Aktionsbündnis Katastrophenhilfe”). By adding the memo “Nothilfe Ukraine” (emergency aid for Ukraine) to bank transfers, the money will be spent on relief measures for people in Ukraine.

Your local German authorities can provide information on what refugees need in their temporary shelters and how one can take people in who have fled the fighting. For more details, click here.