Western aid pledges at lowest level since Russian invasion began

The new commitments of the European Union and the United States towards kyiv have been “limited”, deplores a German institute, which fears that the reluctance will benefit Vladimir Putin.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in kyiv, December 6, 2023. (HANDOUT / UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP)

A visible consequence of Western hesitation. The pace of new aid pledges to Ukraine has fallen to its lowest since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, assessed the German research institute Kiel Institute on Thursday December 7.

“The new commitments made between the beginning of August and the end of October amount to 2.11 billion euros”assessed the Kiel Institute, which lists the military, financial and humanitarian aid promised and delivered to Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022. A quarterly amount “down 87% compared to the same period in 2022”And “the lowest” since the start of the war.

Over the period from August to October 2023, among the 42 donor countries monitored by the institute, “only 20 have committed to new aid packages”. An envelope of 50 billion euros envisaged to consolidate European support for Ukraine is blocked by the reluctance of certain European countries to pay more. In the United States, Congress is torn apart over a new tranche of aid, the vote for which comes up against the reluctance of Republican elected officials.

“Further delay would clearly strengthen Putin’s position”, warns Christoph Trebesch, who heads the Kiel Institute team monitoring aid to Ukraine. In total, since the start of the war, Ukraine’s allies and major international organizations (World Bank, IMF, etc.) have promised it nearly 255 billion euros in aid, including 182 billion in the short term. (already delivered or planned within one year). These commitments include 141 billion euros in financial aid, nearly 16 billion in humanitarian aid and 98 billion in military aid.


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