Pistorius warns of problems for US economy if Congress fails to approve further Ukraine aid

Bloomberg reported the information.

On Saturday, 17 February, at the Munich Security Conference, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that Russian aggression, if left unstopped, could weaken Europe as a whole and disrupt the bloc's trade relations with the world's largest economy, as well as harm American defence companies.

“One aspect among many others of our transatlantic cooperation is that we signed hundreds of contracts worth billions of dollars and we are about to prepare new contracts,” he added. “It’s obvious that the alliance for security brings many advantages — for both sides.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other Western leaders have largely focused on political and strategic arguments in justifying their calls for additional US military assistance to Ukraine.

However, Pistorius emphasises the potential losses for US defence contractors, which is a matter of concern for Germany.

In particular, he warned about the consequences of Ukraine's defeat not only for Europe but also for the United States, saying that Russian leader Vladimir Putin's invasion is a threat to the "rules-based international order".

"Geographically, Europe is far away from Iowa or Wisconsin, but still it's very close in terms of security policy," he said. "Less security in Europe means less security for the United States."

Germany has been calling on its European neighbours to provide more weapons to Ukraine, and Pistorius said he sees evidence that commitments are growing.

"The UK is also doing more and more and also France is increasing its support," said the German Defence Minister. "I’m absolutely confident that we will be able to achieve a lot of support during the months and years to come. But of course it’s not easy. Money is not limitless."

• On 14 February, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that Germany intends to increase the supply of artillery shells to Ukraine by 3-4 times. In 2024, Berlin will spend EUR 3.5 billion on the purchase of ammunition.