Sanctions against Russia
Acting jointly within the EU and in close consultation with its G7 partners, Germany has adopted sanctions in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. As of July 2026, the EU has adopted 21 sanctions packages against Russia. These packages contain far-reaching measures that aim in particular to severely weaken the Russian economy and the country’s political elite. The sanctions are having an important impact.
You can find an overview of the adopted sanctions on the Federal Government’s website.
The Federal Economic Affairs Ministry has compiled a list of FAQs on the sanctions against Russia (in German).
To ensure that sanctions are implemented as effectively as possible, the German government adopted two Sanctions Enforcement Acts in 2022. The first Sanctions Enforcement Act put key short-term measures in place, and the second Sanctions Enforcement Act introduced major structural improvements. More information on sanctions enforcement is available here.
Bilateral support for Ukraine
Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the German federal government has provided bilateral non-military support to Ukraine totalling over €43.3bn. It has also provided, or made available for the coming years, military support totalling approximately €57.6bn (as of 30 June 2026).
The Federal Ministry of Finance is responsible for a significant portion of the bilateral non-military assistance (€8.26bn). The Finance Ministry’s focus is on helping the Länder and local authorities financially and logistically in their efforts to provide accommodation and assistance for Ukrainian refugees. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the federal government has supported the Länder in this task with lump-sum contributions, while the Institute for Federal Real Estate has made federal properties available rent-free.
In addition, Germany is providing financial aid to safeguard the Ukrainian state’s capacity for action. This includes allocations to an account that is administered for Ukraine by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as temporary debt service suspension.
As part of its responsibility for Wiedergutmachung (Germany’s efforts to make amends for crimes committed by the Nazi regime), the Finance Ministry also supports Holocaust survivors in Ukraine via the Claims Conference. To this end, a one-time special payment of €12m was made to the Claims Conference in 2022 for the purpose of supporting Holocaust survivors in Ukraine. The Claims Conference distributed this funding at its own discretion, based on the respective needs of Holocaust survivors. In addition, the federal government agreed that funding from the Claims Conference’s homecare budget could be used to finance costs incurred in connection with the evacuation of Holocaust survivors from Ukraine. According to the Claims Conference, €1,854,867.74 has been allocated for this purpose, mostly for post-evacuation support in Germany (such as accommodation, meals and medical care).
The Central Customs Authority, which falls under the remit of the Finance Ministry, regularly conducts customs-related workshops and training measures to support the State Customs Service of Ukraine (SCS) and the European Union Advisory Mission Ukraine. Officials from the SCS also take part in study visits to German customs as part of the EU’s Technical Assistance and Information Exchange (TAIEX) programme. In addition, the Central Customs Authority provides Ukraine’s SCS, border guard service and police with much-needed equipment such as used service vehicles, laptops, smartphones, X-ray machines and uniforms.
The Federal Government’s website provides an overview of all the bilateral assistance measures that Germany has taken since the start of the war.
Multilateral financial assistance for Ukraine
In addition to bilateral measures, Germany also assists Ukraine within the framework of the EU and international development banks and financial institutions. Since the war broke out, the G7 (including the EU) and international financial institutions have been working together to provide direct, short-term budgetary assistance to Ukraine in order to ensure that the country has the financial means to continue functioning effectively. For example, in 2024 the G7 countries jointly decided to provide loans totalling $50bn to Ukraine. The loans will be serviced and repaid from the extraordinary revenues (windfall profits) accumulated by central securities depositories as a result of the immobilisation of Russian Central Bank assets. These funds are released for use by the European Commission within the framework of the Ukraine loan cooperation mechanism. The Russian assets themselves, and the interest on them, belong to Russia and are not used. The EU contribution of €18.1bn was disbursed to Ukraine as exceptional macro-financial assistance over the course of 2025.
In addition, a new EU instrument was created, based on the European Council agreement of 18 December 2025, which makes a loan of €90bn available to Ukraine for the 2026–2027 period. The loan, which will help to cover Ukraine’s military and financial needs, was set up under the “enhanced cooperation” procedure with the participation of 24 member states, not including Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Since the end of June, the first instalments of the loan have been disbursed to Ukraine, namely €3.2bn in budgetary support (in the form of macro-financial assistance) and €8.47bn in military support. The EU’s Ukraine Facility is providing a further €50bn between 2024 and 2027.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is the largest institutional investor in Ukraine, with a particular focus on the private sector and public companies in the areas of energy, infrastructure, food security and trade. The EBRD has made a total volume of €10.5bn available since the beginning of the war. The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) supports Ukraine as well, especially in the area of housing. Since Ukraine joined the CEB in June 2023, €813m in loans have been approved for this purpose; in addition, further support is available through the Ukraine Solidarity Fund (currently €17.3m) and the Social Impact Account (€18m in 2025).
The World Bank Group has mobilised over US$90bn since the start of the war, with various financing instruments being used, including loans, mechanisms for pooling resources from donors, and instruments for supporting the private sector.
Since 2022, the IMF has provided financial support to Ukraine, initially through emergency financing and subsequently through two programmes. Under its Rapid Financing Instrument, the IMF made a total of US$2.7bn in emergency financing available in 2022. In March 2023, an IMF programme worth approximately US$15.6bn was approved. This was succeeded by a new IMF programme in February 2026. The current programme has a duration of four years and a volume of approximately US$8.1bn, US$2.2bn of which has been disbursed to date.
Debt service suspension for Ukraine
Key information at a glance
Current information on the situation in Ukraine and on security
- germany4ukraine.de is the German government’s central online portal for refugees from Ukraine. This website offers important information from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees to help Ukrainian refugees find their bearings in Germany.
- The German government also provides information on recent developments in the war (in German), security and defence measures (in German), and military support for Ukraine.
- The Federal Foreign Office website provides information about the current situation in Ukraine (in German).
Working in Germany
- The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has put together a comprehensive list of FAQs on working and social benefits in Germany.
- The Federal Employment Agency’s website offers information on advisory services and further assistance for refugees.
- The website Faire Integration has information for refugees who have already applied for asylum about their rights as workers in Germany. Here is an overview of advice centres. The advice services are free of charge and are also available in Ukrainian and Russian in some places.
How can I help?
- Many of us have a strong desire to support people in Ukraine and refugees from Ukraine. This overview by the Federal Government (in German) shows what you can do to help.
- If you would like to make a donation to help people in Ukraine and refugees from Ukraine, you can give money to Germany’s relief coalition Aktion Deutschland Hilft or the disaster relief alliance Aktionsbündnis Katastrophenhilfe, among other charities.
- Answers to common questions about tax measures to support people harmed by the war in Ukraine are available here (in German).
Countering disinformation
- The Federal Ministry of the Interior provides answers to key questions about disinformation in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.