Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/320382 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Publisher: 
IfW Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Kiel
Abstract: 
This report takes stock of international support for Ukraine. It is based on almost 3 years of data collection from the Ukraine Support Tracker, stretching from January 22nd, 2022 to December 31st, 2024. Over the past 3 years, Ukraine has received a low but steady inflow of foreign aid, with Europe taking the lead. On military aid, Europe's support of EUR 62 billion is on a similar level to that of the United States, which has allocated EUR 64 billion in total. However, Europe has long surpassed the US when it comes to financial and humanitarian aid allocations (EUR 70 billion vs. 50 billion). Total aid allocations by all donor governments to Ukraine amount to EUR 267 billion as of Dec 2024, or about EUR 80 billion per year. In percent of GDP, only Scandinavian and Eastern European countries, plus the Netherlands, have made a significant effort to support Ukraine. Major donors such as Germany, the US or the UK have allocated less than 0.2% of their GDP on aid to Ukraine per year. This is comparable to minor and questionable domestic subsidy programs such as for diesel fuel or company cars. Southern European countries like France, Spain or Italy have done even less, with just around 0.1% of GDP mobilized for Ukraine per year. Through the lens of Western governments' fiscal budgets, aid to Ukraine thus looks more like a minor political "pet project" rather than a major fiscal effort. The Russia-Ukraine war has become a battle of procurement and military production. In 2022, more than 70% of foreign military aid came from national stockpiles, with little industry procurement. By 2024, that ratio had reversed, as two-thirds of all arms and equipment allocated to Ukraine now come directly from defense industries. This trend underscores the growing relevance for ramping up defense production in Europe. European donors are increasingly collaborating through multilateral procurement initiatives to jointly produce and deliver weapons to Ukraine. Our dataset records a total of EUR 5 billion in military procurement initiatives, including ad-hoc coordinated projects or more institutionalized multilateral funding mechanisms, such as the International Fund for Ukraine, the Czech Ammunition Initiative, and the NATO Comprehensive Assistance Package. While these initiatives remain relatively small, they could become a blueprint for the future of aid for Ukraine. Donors such as Denmark have started to purchase weapons directly from Ukrainian producers, in particular drones. Looking ahead, this "Danish model" could help to deliver weapons that are cheaper and delivered more quickly.
Subjects: 
International aid
military aid
war
geoeconomics
Ukraine
Document Type: 
Research Report

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