German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that Germany will make every effort to ensure the appropriate level of support from European countries for Ukraine.

"We will do everything to guarantee that Europe's joint contribution will be so enormous that Ukraine can rely on it," Western media said, citing his words from a speech before the Bundestag.

Focus magazine said if the United States reduces support for Ukraine, Germany will take first place in terms of assistance to Kyiv. At the same time, Scholz declared that such a situation was unacceptable.

"Help should not depend only on Germany. (...) We want more countries to act more actively," the chancellor said.

In October 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden sent a request to Congress to provide financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $61.4 billion for a year. However, this funding has not yet been approved. Earlier in January, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Washington was not currently working on new military aid packages to Ukraine.

The day before, French President Emmanuel Macron called on European countries to be ready to fully support Ukraine if the United States reduces or stops aid to Kyiv.

The EU is discussing the creation of a military assistance fund for Ukraine in the amount of EUR 5 billion. It should transform the European Peace Facility: now the emphasis will be not on using existing arsenals, but on acquiring new weapons through joint contracts. The topic of the fund should be discussed by EU leaders at the summit on February 1.