News - Middle East: German leaders plan to slash military assistance to Kiev in 2025 to half as Donald Trump, who is against the Ukraine war, looks more probable to become the new president of the United States.

Trump, who is a staunch opponent of continued aid to Kiev, is seen as the likely winner of the 2024 US presidential election.

Last week, a NATO summit in Washington addressed concerns regarding the potential political changes in the US. It was agreed that NATO would take over coordination of weapons deliveries to Ukraine from the United States.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the new decision meant that from September the 700 personnel from across the alliance will begin working under new leadership in Germany.

However, Germany surprised the other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization by announcing its plans to nearly halve military aid for Ukraine next year, from around 8 billion euros to around 4 billion, according to a draft budget approved by Berlin’s government.

Germany, which had initially shown reluctance to support Ukraine in its war against Russia, later became Kiev’s main European supplier of military aid.