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. The Russian armed forces’ deliberate attacks on civilian targets such as schools, hospitals, kindergartens and residential buildings, as well as civilian infrastructure, including power plants that produce heat and electricity, and the water supply, are particularly perfidious. Russia has once again intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure to a massive degree during one of the country’s harshest winters, seeking to wear down the Ukrainian people and deprive them of vital resources. Providing swift and targeted assistance 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 (as of 31 December 2025) made available or earmarked for the coming years approximately 39 billion euro in bilateral civilian support and approximately 55 billion euro in military assistance. This aid includes air defence, substantial winter relief programmes and energy assistance, 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. During the coldest winter since the start of the war, Germany has provided approximately 400 million euro for a “winter package” specifically aimed at supporting the energy infrastructure and humanitarian assistance.

Germany is also providing support for Ukraine’s process of accession to the European Union, including the necessary reform process. Moreover, Ukraine and Germany signed a comprehensive bilateral agreement on security cooperation on 16 February 2024.

Political support and peace efforts

We firmly believe that, for there to be sustainable peace, Ukraine must be strong. Our consistent support is crucial to this end. Together with our partners, we have been making every effort to bring about peace through a diplomatic agreement. We support US President Trump’s objective of ending Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and our goal continues to be a just and lasting peace. Ukraine has repeatedly signalled its willingness to negotiate. Europe expressly supports this and stands firmly by Ukraine’s side. Germany is prepared, in the event of a ceasefire and a peace agreement, to continue to assume responsibility for Ukraine’s security, including with security guarantees and contributions as part of a 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.

Ukrainian President Zelensky has regularly stressed that Ukraine is willing to negotiate and has specifically said that he is ready to enter into an unconditional ceasefire. Russia, on the other hand, is holding firm to its maximum demands and is stepping up its attacks on Ukraine. We are therefore maintaining our support for Ukraine, 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.

A regularly updated overview of bilateral support can be found here.

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. Germany has made available or earmarked for the coming years 55 billion euro in bilateral military support since the start of Russia’s war of aggression.

In the EU, agreement was reached in 2021 on the establishment of European Peace Facility (EPF) support measures for the armed forces of Ukraine to the tune of 6.1 billion euro. These measures take the form of a refinancing mechanism for equipment supplied on a bilateral basis and repair services provided by the EU member states. Member states contribute to this on the basis of a cost share formula that reflects their respective gross national income. Germany’s contribution amounts to approximately 25 percent. Mandatory contributions totalling 645 million euro have already been paid by the country. In March 2024, a decision was taken to establish the Ukraine Assistance Fund within the EPF, and the target for its initial volume was set at an additional five billion euro by the year 2027. A total of over 87,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained as part of the EU mission EUMAM, nearly 25,000 of them in Germany.

Alongside other NATO allies and partners, Germany has funded urgently needed weapons deliveries from US stockpiles to Ukraine via NATO’s PURL (Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List) mechanism, contributing 700 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. This includes, for example, critical air defence capabilities. These are urgently needed to counter Russia’s ongoing airstrikes, which are killing ever more civilians throughout Ukraine.

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

Since the start of the war, Germany has provided 39 billion euro in civilian aid to Ukraine. To strengthen the resilience of the Ukrainian state and its capacity to act, 245.9 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 to bolster the resilience of border guards and the National Guard, as well as the police and civil defence with funds from the Federal Foreign Office totalling 317 million euro to date. Additional measures are already being implemented.

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 provides humanitarian assistance to 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. Since February 2022, the Federal Foreign Office has made available a total of more than 1.57 billion euro in humanitarian assistance, thereby helping Ukraine through four cold winters.

Alongside our partners, we are also providing assistance particularly to those who have to stay behind near the front lines – such as the elderly, the seriously ill and people with disabilities – as well as to internally displaced persons all across Ukraine. 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 abducted Ukrainian children.

Another priority of our support is the Ukrainian energy sector, which is the focus of 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 over 1.2 billion euro in support for the energy sector, making it the second-largest donor after the US. These funds help to provide emergency energy assistance to ensure that the population continues to have access to electricity, heating and water supplies. 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 firm 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. In addition, at the European Council meeting on 18 December 2025, the Heads of Government, including Germany’s Federal Chancellor, agreed to provide Ukraine with a 90 billion euro loan for the years 2026 to 2027, on the basis of EU bonds issued on the capital markets for this purpose.

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 Russia’s war of aggression. The Register has its seat in The Hague and took up its work at the beginning of February 2024. Germany provides financial support – approximately two million euro to date – and has currently seconded one expert to assist in its work. The first decisions taken by the damage registry have been made since December 2024 and a total of over 100,000 damage claims have now been received. The registry will, in the medium term, be incorporated into the Claims Commission for Ukraine, which will examine 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. 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

For as long as Russia continues to brutally attack Ukraine, there must be consequences. The European Union has responded by imposing massive and unprecedented sanctions. It will continue to increase this pressure on Russia by all available means in order to limit its ability to wage its illegal war of aggression, so that it ends its war of aggression against Ukraine. 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. Other 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, further 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.

More information about the sanctions that are currently in place is available here.

Reconstruction

The German Government, together with Ukraine and our partners in the EU and the 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. 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. More than 3400 participants from 60 countries met at the conference, which was entitled “United in defence. United in Recovery. Stronger together” and showed their support for Ukraine not least by signing 110 agreements and contracts. A detailed list of conference outcomes and the Co‑Chairs’ Statement of the German and Ukrainian Governments can be found here.

The next conference (URC 2025) was held in Rome on 10 and 11 July 2025. 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 will host this year’s URC, which will take place in Gdańsk on 25 and 26 June. The conference will build 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 will be added as a new dimension.

Huge willingness to help

Many people in Germany have great sympathy for the fate of the people in Ukraine. The tremendous willingness to help is also reflected in civil society. 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 the Disaster Relief Alliance (“Aktionsbündnis Katastrophenhilfe”). 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.

You can find more information here on the help required by refugees in Ukraine and on the admission of war refugees to Germany.