KIEL, Germany - Newly committed aid to Ukraine dropped to the lowest level since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion, highlighting concerns about wavering support for Kyiv’s war effort from Western allies.
Fresh support fell almost 90 per cent between August and October from the same period in 2022 to €2.11 billion (S$3 billion) in 2023, according to data tracked by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy released on Dec 7.
The amount was the lowest since January 2022.
Ukraine is increasingly dependent on just a few donors including Germany, the US and some countries from the Nordics, and Eastern Europe.
The report comes after US Senate Republicans blocked US$66 billion (S$88.5 billion) in emergency Ukraine assistance, heightening the risk US funding for the country’s war effort will run dry.
Support from the European Union is also looking increasingly shaky after Hungary threatened to torpedo next week’s summit in Brussels, where it is going to be discussed.
“Our figures confirm the impression of a more hesitant donor attitude in recent months,” Mr Christoph Trebesch, head of the team in charge of the Ukraine Support Tracker and director of a research centre at the Kiel Institute, said in an e-mailed statement.
“Given the uncertainty over further US aid, Ukraine can only hope for the EU to finally pass its long-announced US$50 billion support package. A further delay would clearly strengthen Putin’s position.”
Ukraine’s much-anticipated counter-offensive has so far failed to deliver a breakthrough after Russian troops built strong defensive lines.
President Volodymyr Zelensky promised on Dec 6 to press on with fighting as he asked Group of Seven (G-7) leaders to push back against mounting uncertainty over financial support from the US.
US President Joe Biden on Dec 6 accused Republicans of “playing chicken with our national security” as he delivered a speech, again urging them to approve US$106 billion in support for Ukraine and Israel.
Of the 42 donors tracked by the Kiel Institute, only 20 have committed new aid packages in the August-October period, the smallest share of active donors since February 2022, when Russia started the war.
The outlook is “unclear” since the largest pending aid commitment – by the EU – has not been approved yet and aid by the US has been on the decline, the Kiel Institute said. BLOOMBERG
