During debates concerning weapons purchased with German and EU funding for Ukraine, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) received significant support from the defense industry. Armin Papperger, president of the German Federation of Safety and Defense Industries (BDSV), told Spiegel that the minister was correct: when Germany financially supports Ukraine, the purchasing of German and European systems should be a priority using that taxpayer money.
The CEO of defense giant Rheinmetall also commented, focusing on artillery ammunition, air defense, and satellite reconnaissance systems. Papperger stated that these purchases immediately strengthen Ukraine’s defensive capabilities while simultaneously boosting Germany’s industrial output-capacity that is urgently needed for Europe’s own security. This response from the industrial leader follows a statement by Wadephul in a podcast by “Bild” editor Paul Ronzheimer, where Wadephul asserted: “We are now the strongest supporter of Ukraine, regarding financial and military aid.” Papperger added that it is “natural” for the German defense industry to benefit from this situation.
According to Spiegel, these remarks reflect growing frustration within the German government. This frustration is visible not just within the military sector staff in Ukraine affairs, but also in the Chancellor’s office, where there is a noticeable shift in what Ukraine desires in terms of weaponry.
An insider told Spiegel that since the former defense minister, the trend has been that Kyiv now wants to fund almost exclusively systems from its own production using German money. This trend has advanced to the point where even drones produced jointly by Germany and Ukraine no longer appear on wish lists from Kyiv. The shift in policy was also a topic during a recent embassy conference at the Foreign Office.
German Ambassador to Ukraine, Boris Ruge, mentioned in a non-public part of the meeting that a new trend was emerging. Ruge reported to Spiegel that at the beginning of the war, the flow of weaponry was a one-way street into Ukraine. However, there is now a tendency-especially concerning drones-to use Western funds to stimulate domestic production, with the intention of offering these various systems internationally later on. The ambassador announced that he plans to discuss this topic intensively with the Ukrainian side in the coming months while simultaneously representing German interests.
