How Germany is supporting Ukraine

Russian troops invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Even before the Russian war of aggression, Germany was a strong and reliable partner for Ukraine. In the meantime, it has become one of the country’s most important allies. Besides state support, there has been huge assistance from NGOs and numerous donations from civil society, twinned cities and associations.  

The Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin 

Germany is staging the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024 (11 to 12 June) in Berlin, an event hosted by the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The URC brings together the leading Ukrainian and international actors from politics, business and civil society. Their goal is to support the country’s sustainable, transformative and inclusive reconstruction. The conference is a follow-up to the meetings in Lugano in 2022 and London in 2023. Formerly known as the Ukraine Reform Conference, the format was established in 2017. 

What are the focal areas for the URC? 

Four “thematic dimensions” have been defined for the Ukraine Recovery Conference: 

• Business Dimension: Mobilising the private sector for reconstruction and economic growth 
• Human Dimension: Social recovery and human capital for the future of Ukraine  
• Local and Regional Dimension: Recovery of municipalities and regions 

• EU Dimension: EU accession and related reforms 

   

How is Germany supporting Ukraine? 

The German government is providing Ukraine with extensive support to help it repel the Russian war of aggression. After the US, Germany is the biggest donor country - in political, financial, military and humanitarian terms. In total, the German state has made bilateral assistance worth around 34 billion euros available since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression – in the form of humanitarian support, direct payments or weapons. The support is provided by the competent ministries. The assistance is so broad-ranging that all 16 ministries are involved. An up-to-date overview can be found here. 

Civilian assistance for Ukraine 

The lion’s share of support in Ukraine itself is provided by the Federal Foreign Office in the form of emergency humanitarian assistance and support with mine clearance, documenting war crimes, fighting crime, preserving Ukrainian cultural assets and fostering exchange between scientists and academics. The biggest sums in terms of civilian aid are made available by the Finance Ministry and the Social Ministry to provide subsistence support and training for the roughly 1.15 million Ukrainian refugees. Germany and Poland (956,000) have taken in the most refugees by far. 

Military assistance for Ukraine from Germany 

Since the beginning of the war, Germany has pledged military assistance worth around 28 billion euros to Ukraine. This includes direct shipments as well as direct and indirect financial aid, for example via partner countries, the European Union or loans. A list of the weapons shipments to date can be found in this overview.