How will aid to Ukraine be distributed without the United States?
Washington has provided half of all defense spending that Kyiv has received since the start of the Russian invasion
Donald Trump has announced that the United States will suspend aid to Ukraine. The American about-face is a hard blow for Kyiv: 43% of all the aid it has received to defend itself against the Russian invasion came from Washington, according to data from the Kiel Institute, the most accurate database for tracking money delivered. If we look at the figures for defense aid, the United States has provided one out of every two euros delivered so far: €64 billion out of €129 billion ($68.6 billion-$138.2 billion).
The European Union aims to compensate for this gap by allowing member countries to increase their military spending, which will allow them to increase their shipments of defense material to Ukraine. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has estimated that the 27 member states will invest €800 billion to arm themselves.
The figure should not be taken literally, as it will have to be specified and everything indicates that it will involve refocusing the destination of resources already in circulation, but it does give an idea of the commitment: it means investing four times more than what the EU and its members have given to Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022.
Aid from the 27 has been constant throughout three years of war. However, the allocations announced by the bloc (which have not yet materialized) are much higher than those made by Washington. The amount committed by the U.S. in undelivered aid amounts to €6.5 billion; the EU has yet to deliver €85 billion.
Under Joe Biden, the United States provided more support to Ukraine in 2022 and 2023 than the EU. American assistance, which slowed down in 2023, has accelerated due to the orders Biden finalized before leaving the Oval Office.
From money to tanks and rocket launchers
Northern and Eastern European countries are at the top of the list when aid to Ukraine is measured in national GDP, they point out. Finland and Sweden have contributed around 1% of all their annual production since the beginning of the conflict. The percentage exceeds 2% in the case of Estonia and Denmark.
Where has the aid gone? One in every two euros committed (48%) has been spent on military expenditure, a total of €129 billion. In humanitarian aid, European countries have provided the most, with €8.4 billion, more than double the contribution of the United States. However, humanitarian aid represents only 8% of the total Ukraine has received. The rest has been financial contributions.
Military aid to Ukraine has not been limited to money to spend on defense, but has included the sending of specific military means. In this regard, Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s main partners have also been the EU member states. Notable cases include Poland, which has sent half of the tanks that Kyiv has received (767) from the 27, or the Netherlands, which has sent nearly one in three infantry vehicles. The United States, as an individual country, is however the one that has provided the most howitzers: 201.
Looking at the economic value of the delivered equipment, air defense systems stand out: Ukraine has received 136 of these units worth more than €17 billion, more than the combined total of tanks, rocket launchers, infantry vehicles and howitzers.
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