Paris and Berlin have been feuding in recent months over their respective Ukraine strategies, as Kyiv’s forces on the battlefield bear the brunt of Western indecision and conservative American hesitancy to continue funding the war effort.
Macron has adopted increasingly hawkish rhetoric, doubling down on comments about the prospect of sending Western ground troops to Ukraine and saying Europe should not act as “cowards” in the face of Russia’s aggression.
Germany, on the other hand, accuses Paris of talking a good game while spending less than its allies to help Kyiv — a claim France has vigorously pushed back against.
Scholz has also faced criticism for his refusal to send German Taurus missiles to Ukraine, while the U.K. and France have already sent their similar long-range Storm Shadow and SCALP cruise missiles.
Both France and Germany signed security agreements with Ukraine last month, pledging to help the fight against Russia’s invasion “for as long as it takes,” and assist Kyiv in building modern defense capacities.
In its agreement, France says it “provided Ukraine with military aid worth a total of €1.7 billion in 2022 and €2.1 billion in 2023” and will send “up to €3 billion in additional support” in 2024. Scholz noted that Germany had spent €28 billion since the start of the war.
