Nord Stream Blowback

Politico reports Germany to Halt New Ukraine Military Aid

The German government will stop new military aid to Ukraine as part of the ruling coalition's plan to reduce spending, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported on Saturday.

The moratorium on new assistance is already in effect and will affect new requests for funding, not previously approved aid, according to the FAZ report, which cited non-public documents and emails as well as discussions with people familiar with the matter.

In a letter sent to the German defense ministry on Aug. 5, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said that future funding would no longer come from Germany's federal budget but from proceeds from frozen Russian assets, according to the German newspaper.

Wimpy Response

This is a damn wimpy response but the political ramifications will be more severe.

Poland aided Ukraine in this mess by not capturing the pipeline suspects.

And Donald Tusk, Poland's prime minister, chastised Germany as if this is somehow Germany's fault.

Eurointelligence comments on Tusk Diplomacy.

Tusk Diplomacy – Germany Edition

We recall the role Donald Tusk played during the Brexit standoff in the UK, when, as president of the European Council, he personally campaigned during the 2019 election for anti-Brexit parties. We thought at the time that this act was massively counter-productive, and it may have played a role in the UK's big pro-Brexit swing later that year.

This weekend we were reminded of Tusk's diplomatic skills when he posted a message on social media that read as follows:

"To all the initiators and patrons of Nord Stream 1 and 2. The only thing you should do today about it is apologise and keep quiet."