Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has brought immeasurable suffering to millions of people. The war is directly affecting not only the 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. According to the United Nations, more than 16,000 civilians in Ukraine have been killed and over 48,000 injured since the start of the full-scale war on 24 February 2022. In the first half of 2026 alone, just under 1400 people have been killed and almost 8000 injured. The Russian armed forces’ deliberate attacks on civilian targets such as kindergartens, schools, hospitals and residential buildings, as well as civilian infrastructure such as heating, electricity and water supplies, are particularly perfidious. Last winter, Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, seeking to wear down the Ukrainian people and deprive them of vital resources. Providing swift and targeted assistance and supplies to the Ukrainians therefore continues to be a top priority of the German Government.

For Ukraine to protect itself and defend our peace in Europe, the German Government has to date made available or earmarked for the coming years more than 43.3 billion euro in bilateral civilian support and approximately 57.6 billion euro in military assistance, currently making Germany Ukraine’s largest bilateral supporter. This assistance includes air defence, substantial winter relief programmes and energy assistance, but also help for people who have fled Ukraine or been displaced within the country, humanitarian assistance and mine clearance operations, as well as stabilisation projects that provide urgently needed supplies for civilian security forces and bolster the resilience of the Ukrainian people through targeted support measures.

At the intergovernmental consultations in April 2026, with an eye to further intensifying this close cooperation, Germany and Ukraine upgraded their relations to the level of a strategic partnership, because Ukraine has become a key security partner for Europe and Germany. Germany and Ukraine have therefore agreed on intensified defence industry cooperation, enhanced economic cooperation for reconstruction in Ukraine and a German-Ukrainian Year of Culture 2027/2028. Germany is also providing support for Ukraine’s process of accession to the European Union, including the necessary reforms.

Political support and peace efforts

We are convinced that, for there to be sustainable peace, Ukraine must be strong. Our consistent support is crucial to this end. Together with our partners, we are doing everything in our power for a just and lasting peace. In contrast to Russia, Ukraine has repeatedly signalled its readiness to enter into negotiations as well as an immediate ceasefire. Germany expressly supports this and, along with our partners, stands firmly by Ukraine’s side. In the event of a ceasefire, Germany is prepared to continue to assume responsibility for Ukraine’s security – for example through security guarantees and contributions in the framework of the Coalition of the Willing . Furthermore, we are discussing issues relating to a ceasefire, security in the Black Sea, reconstruction and the prosecution of Russian war crimes in a number of international forums – including in the United Nations, NATO, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the G7 , the EU and specifically established forums such as the Coalition of the Willing and the Berlin format. Unlike Ukraine, Russia is holding firm to its maximum demands and is stepping up its attacks on Ukraine. We are therefore continuing our support for Ukraine and increasing the pressure on Russia in order to smooth the way for a diplomatic solution. Because we believe that if Russia ends its attacks, that will be the end of the war. If Ukraine stops defending itself, that will be the end of Ukraine.

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 budget. When providing this assistance, the German Government tailors its aid to the needs of Ukraine and continuously explores where it would be useful and possible to step up its assistance, e.g. with regard to air defence. For a regularly updated overview of bilateral support, click here.

In December 2025, the European Council agreed to provide Ukraine with an interest-free loan of 90 billion euro for 2026-2027 to meet Ukraine’s most pressing needs. Two-thirds of the amount of the loan is being made available for the procurement of military equipment, primarily from the European security and defence industry. The other third is envisaged for civilian requirements, with payment tied to the implementation of reforms, for instance in the areas of the rule of law and anti-corruption measures.

With an eye to Ukraine’s full Euro-Atlantic integration, the Allies and Ukraine are cooperating closely in the NATO-Ukraine Council (NUC), which was established at the NATO Summit in Vilnius in 2023. In this context, NATO is advising and supporting Ukraine in reforming its security sector, including the consolidating of rule of law principles. NATO is helping to coordinate military support measures such as the provision of training by Allies and the supply of urgently needed materiel. In 2025, the Allies provided a total of 37.6 billion euro in military support. In the Declaration from the NATO Ankara Summit on 8 July 2026, Canada and the European Allies, following a German initiative, pledged 70 billion euro in military assistance for 2026 and affirmed their commitment to sustaining at least equivalent levels in 2027 (total of 140 billion euro over two years). Germany has funded urgently needed weapons deliveries from US stockpiles to Ukraine via NATO’s PURL (Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List) mechanism, contributing 900 million US dollars to date, including modern Patriot guided missiles for ballistic missile defence. The PURL support packages include military equipment that is either not manufactured by the European defence industry or that can be delivered at the intended scale more swiftly by the US than by European partners or Canada.

Stabilisation, humanitarian assistance, support for the energy sector and winter relief

Since the start of the war, Germany has provided over 43.3 billion euro in civilian support to Ukraine. To strengthen the resilience of the Ukrainian state and its capacity to act, 254.5 million euro of the funds made available by the Federal Foreign Office since the start of Russia’s war of aggression have been allocated to stabilisation efforts. A particular focus is on the liberated and frontline areas as these regions have been particularly affected by the war. Urgently needed vehicles, generators and protective equipment for civilian security forces are being delivered there, for example. With our help, Russian war crimes are being documented and displaced persons within Ukraine are receiving support, thus strengthening the country’s resilience.

As part of the Enable & Enhance Initiative, the German Government is also providing support for border guards, the National Guard and the police, as well as civil defence, including protection of critical infrastructure. According to the planning for 2026, the Federal Foreign Office is providing a total of 580.3 million euro for this.

The Federal Foreign Office is also supporting Ukraine’s committed civil society, which is a key factor behind social cohesion in the country. Moreover, we are lending our assistance to the EU accession process that has been initiated as well as to judicial reform.

As one of the biggest donors worldwide and the largest donor in the EU, the Federal Foreign Office supports humanitarian partner organisations in Ukraine and Ukraine’s neighbouring countries to alleviate the acute suffering of the population caused by Russia’s war of aggression. All in all, the Federal Foreign Office has made available around 1.7 billion euro in humanitarian assistance since February 2022.

We and our partners are also providing assistance to internally displaced persons all across Ukraine and in particular to people who have stayed behind near the front lines, including the elderly, the seriously ill and people with disabilities. 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, and in connection with the return and reintegration of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.

Another priority of our support is the Ukrainian energy sector, which is repeatedly the target of intensive Russian attacks. Germany is the largest bilateral donor to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund of the Energy Community, a European organisation. Since the war began, the German Government has provided a total of roughly 1.3 billion euro in support for the energy sector, making it the second-largest donor after the US. One area in which the German Government is providing support is emergency energy assistance to ensure that the population is supplied with electricity, heat and water. This includes repairs, creating additional capacity for electricity generation and protecting infrastructure. In addition, we are working with our Ukrainian partners to rebuild the energy infrastructure in a decentralised way, with a focus on energy efficiency and the expansion of renewable energy.

Additional funding of support through windfall profits, G7 loans and the International Monetary Fund

In response 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 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 that it had agreed to make available to Ukraine a loan totalling around 45 billion euro (50 billion US dollars) using the windfall profits.

The EU’s share of this loan was paid to Ukraine in instalments up to the end of 2025 in the form of an exceptional Macro-Financial Assistance loan amounting to 18.1 billion euro.

Furthermore, also with Germany’s support, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has provided Ukraine with a loan programme that has made a total of 11.6 billion US dollars (approx. 9.8 billion euro) available since 2023. On 26 February 2026, a new four-year loan programme for Ukraine totalling approximately 8.1 billion US dollars (6.7 billion euro) was approved, replacing the previous programme.

Documenting and punishing crimes committed as part of Russia's war of aggression

In its war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia is also severely violating international humanitarian law and committing massive human rights abuses in Ukraine, such as the killing and torture of prisoners of war and 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 the collection of evidence, for example by supplying forensic equipment.

Germany supports the Register of Damage for Ukraine within the framework of the Council of Europe to prepare reparation claims based on damage caused by the Russian war of aggression. The Register has its seat in The Hague and took up its work at the beginning of February 2024. In the medium term, the Register will be replaced by the Claims Commission for Ukraine, which will review the registered claims and determine the amount of compensation sought. Germany is among the first signatories of the agreement to this end, which was concluded in December 2025, and ratification was approved by the federal Cabinet on 22 July 2026. Germany argues that violations of international law committed as part of Russia’s war of aggression should not go unpunished and therefore lends strong support to the envisaged establishment of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

An unprecedented sanctions regime

The European Union has reacted to Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine with massive and unprecedented sanctions. On the one hand, these sanctions serve to restrict as far as possible Russia’s ability to wage war. On the other, they create an economic cost to the political decision to continue this war, and thus aim to spur Russia to smooth the way for a diplomatic solution. The sanctions include restricting Russian access to capital markets, imposing substantial export bans, especially in the spheres of advanced technology, industry and energy infrastructure and placing a price cap on Russian oil exports to third countries. Further measures comprise imposing wide-ranging import bans, e.g. on 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, other 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. The German Government is also working closely with the EU Special Representative for Sanctions to this end. Moreover, the EU is actively countering Russia’s ongoing hybrid activities – in particular foreign manipulation of information and interference operations targeting the EU, its member states and partners – with sanctions.

For more on the sanctions that are currently in effect, click here

Reconstruction

The German Government, together with Ukraine and our partners in the EU and G7, is already beginning to plan how Ukraine can rebuild. In December 2022, the G7 and Ukraine agreed to establish an international donor coordination platform for the country’s reconstruction (Ukraine Donor Platform). Although reconstruction will require significant international efforts, it also presents a great opportunity to invest in Ukraine’s future, and, in so doing, to modernise the state and the economy, to 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. Around 3500 participants from 60 countries met under the conference heading “United in defence. United in Recovery. Stronger together” and showed their support for Ukraine not least by signing 110 contracts and agreements worth a total of 16 billion euro.

A detailed list of conference outcomes and the Co-Chairs’ Summary by the German and Ukrainian Governments can be found here.

The URC 2025 took place in Rome. The German Government delegation was led by Federal Chancellor Merz, who, together with European Commission President von der Leyen and other European partners, announced the establishment of the European Ukraine Recovery Fund. Poland hosted the URC 2026 in Gdańsk on 25 and 26 June. The conference built on the thematic dimensions first established in Berlin: the Business Dimension, the Human Dimension, the Local and Regional Dimension and the EU Dimension. Security and Defence was added as a new dimension. Estonia will host the URC 2027.

Huge willingness to help

The tremendous willingness to help is also reflected in civil society. Many people in Germany have great sympathy for the fate of the people in Ukraine. The large number of donated items has resulted in a significant amount of coordination work on the part of aid organisations. 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 “Aktionsbündnis Katastrophenhilfe” (Disaster Relief Alliance). By adding the subject “Nothilfe Ukraine” (emergency aid for Ukraine) to bank transfers, the money will be spent on relief measures for people in Ukraine.

Further information on the help required by refugees in Ukraine and on the admission of war refugees to Germany can be found here (in German).