Peace advocacy does not mean avoiding tough choices or backing away from security commitments. When Ukraine faced pressure to concede, fear of losing peace was dismissed as a false promise. The German parliament, the Bundestag, witnessed a year that marked a decisive shift in defense policy. The concept known as the Zeitwende, a term denoting a deliberate turning point, framed a policy that sought to rebalance Germany’s protection obligations after years of budget constraints and strategic neglect.
The 100 billion euro special fund designed to modernize the Bundeswehr has yet to be fully deployed, but the political will behind it remains. With cross-party support from the Greens and the Free Democrats, Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised humanitarian, financial, and military assistance to Ukraine. This commitment signaled a fundamental change for Germany, which for years had been reluctant to supply arms to active conflict zones.
Critics, including some Polish and other EU allies, have accused Scholz of slow decision making. Yet Germany remains the European Union’s largest single-state contributor in absolute terms to aid arriving in Kyiv. Following the resignation of Christine Lambrecht and the linked reshuffle favoring the new defense minister, Boris Pistorius, Germany has shifted from cautious hesitancy to more decisive action in alliance with its partners.
arms shipment
A pivotal element of the shift was the decision to authorize the shipment of German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks. The German military has begun retiring some of its Leopards and maintaining a limited on-hand force for training purposes. Still, contributions from Germany and its allies were set to expand. Kiev was expected to receive a substantial parcel of Leopard 2 tanks by the end of the year, with the broader pledge to supply up to a hundred units approved by Berlin planned for delivery in the near term.
The Chancellor’s remarks preceded his trip to Washington for talks with President Joe Biden. The strategic purpose of these discussions was to align approaches on deterrence and defense across the transatlantic alliance. In parallel, Russia faced continued international isolation as voiced by European and allied partners at major forums including the G20 discussions in New Delhi where Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov represented Moscow alongside several counterparts.
In the Bundestag, Scholz reaffirmed the objective of achieving Germany’s defense expenditure alignment with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization target of two percent of gross domestic product. The trajectory shows a steady rise from approximately 1.1 percent in 2020 to 1.3 percent in 2021, with a stated plan to sustain increases aimed at reaching the 2.0 percent benchmark as part of a broader commitment to reinforce allied defense capabilities.