German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday that Germany is committing 100 billion euros ($113 billion) to a special fund for its armed forces, raising its defense spending above 2 percent of GDP.
“It’s clear we need to invest significantly more in the security of our country, in order to protect our freedom and our democracy,” Scholz told a special session of the Bundestag in Berlin Sunday morning.
The move is a significant one for Germany, which has come under criticism from the United States and other NATO allies for not investing adequately in its defense budget.
Scholz’s announcement, which came during a special session of Germany’s Bundestag Sunday morning, was the latest in a series of major shifts in German defense and security policy this weekend in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Saturday evening, the German government announced it would be sending weapons and other supplies directly to Ukraine, which is fighting to keep Russia from invading its capital city.
Germany and its Western allies must not run out of steam in sanctioning Russia as President Vladimir Putin has a long-term plan in mind, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday.
"Putin's perfidious game is for long run, so our sanctions should be too. We must ensure that we don't run out of steam in three months," Baerbock told an extraordinary session of the German Bundestag lower house of parliament.
Baerbock said Germany and its Western allies tried to solve the conflict with Russia with diplomacy until the very end but the Kremlin "lied to us and refused all efforts."