Ukraine military aid

Europe would have to double to cushion US freeze

The Ukrainian armed forces have been complaining about supply bottlenecks for months.

(Bild: AFP)

The USA has not supplied Ukraine with any war material for months. Ukrainian soldiers on the front line are gradually running out of ammunition. According to a study, Europe would have to double its military aid to Ukraine in order to compensate for the loss of US supplies. 

The latest EU package for the country attacked by Russia does secure the flow of financial aid, as the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) reported on Friday. However, the gap between the EU pledges (144 billion euros) and the allocated funds (77 billion euros) is still very large.

"In order to fully replace US military aid in 2024, Europe would have to double its current level and pace of arms aid," according to the Ukraine Support Tracker, which records aid up to January 15.

All a question of political will?
Although this is a challenge, it is ultimately a question of political will, said the head of the analysis team, Christoph Trebesch. "The EU countries are among the richest in the world, and so far they have not even spent one percent of their 2021 economic output on supporting Ukraine."

US aid commitments and deliveries have largely come to a standstill since the end of 2023, as a new aid package is being blocked in Congress by former President Donald Trump's Republicans. European aid, on the other hand, continues to increase, both in terms of pledges and "allocations" of weapons systems and other specific aid packages for delivery to Ukraine, according to the IfW.

According to the report, the total volume of financial aid allocated by the EU (34 billion euros) is similar to the allocated military aid (35.2 billion euros). The current military aid is still being provided by some major donors such as the Nordic countries, Germany and the UK, while many other countries have pledged or delivered little or nothing new.

Military aid slowed down
According to the information, Germany is still the largest European donor of military aid with a total volume of 17.7 billion euros since the outbreak of the war. Of this, 9.4 billion euros had also been allocated to Ukraine for specific military packages.

"With the formal approval of the EU's €50 billion aid package for Ukraine, financial assistance appears to be secured for the time being," said Trebesch. "With regard to military aid, this is far less clear. Here, the EU's momentum has slowed down."