“The aim is to make $50 billion available this year, Ukraine can then decide for itself how to use them,” he added, referring to a deal on Russian assets struck by world leaders last month.

The decision to cut aid to Ukraine, which was first reported by Reuters, resolves a mystery surrounding the German coalition’s unexpected agreement over the budget following an all-night bargaining session two weeks ago.

At the time, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Lindner and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck offered only vague explanations for how they had managed to bridge a substantial financing gap that threatened to bring down their alliance. The…