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10/14/2025 11:30

Ukraine Support Tracker: Military aid falls sharply despite new NATO initiative

Mathias Rauck Kommunikation
Kiel Institut für Weltwirtschaft

    Military aid to Ukraine saw a sharp decline in July and August 2025, despite the introduction of NATO’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative. In contrast, financial and humanitarian aid remained stable and is mainly provided by EU institutions. This is shown in the latest update of the Ukraine Support Tracker, which records international aid flows to Ukraine through August 2025.

    Most of the military aid during the observation period came from the new NATO PURL initiative. It was agreed in July at a meeting between NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and US President Donald Trump and enables NATO to acquire “ready-to-use” weapons from US stockpiles for Ukraine, financed by other member states. By August, eight NATO countries had participated: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. They allocated a total of EUR 1.9 billion.

    Military aid falls by 43 percent compared to the first half of the year

    Although the new mechanism was launched, military aid declined significantly in July and August. After the US stopped announcing new aid packages at the beginning of 2025, European countries stepped in and significantly expanded their military support. As a result, the monthly average of military aid allocations in the first half of 2025 exceeded those of 2022–2024—despite the lack of US contributions. However, this momentum collapsed in the summer: military allocations from European countries fell by 57 percent compared to January–June 2025, even when their contributions to the NATO PURL initiative were included. The monthly average of all military aid during this period was thus 43 percent below the level of the first half of 2025.

    “As military support for Ukraine increasingly depends on new weapons procurement—which often takes months or even years to implement—the NATO PURL initiative is an important vehicle to provide Ukraine with ready-to-use weapons from US stockpiles,” says Christoph Trebesch, head of the Ukraine Support Tracker and Research Director at the Kiel Institute. “At the same time, the decline in military aid in July and August is surprising. Despite the NATO PURL initiative, Europe is scaling back its overall military support. What will be crucial now is how the figures evolve in the autumn.”

    EU maintains high level of civilian aid

    Between July and August, EUR 7.5 billion in financial and humanitarian aid was allocated, which is in line with previous years and the first half of this year. Of the newly allocated funds, 86 percent originate from EU institutions, including new tranches under the Ukraine Facility (EUR 5.4 billion) and the ERA Loan Mechanism (EUR 1 billion).

    “The overall level of financial and humanitarian support has remained comparatively stable—even in the absence of US contributions,” noted Christoph Trebesch. “It is now crucial that this stability extends to military support as well, as Ukraine relies on it to sustain its defense efforts on the ground.”

    About the Ukraine Support Tracker

    The Ukraine Support Tracker lists and quantifies military, financial, and humanitarian aid pledged to Ukraine since January 24, 2022 (currently through August 2025). It covers 40 countries, specifically the EU member states, other members of the G7, as well as Australia, South Korea, Turkey, Norway, New Zealand, Switzerland, China, Taiwan, and India. Also, EU institutions are included as a separate donor. The tracker lists government-to-government commitments; private donations or those from international organizations such as the IMF are not included in the main database. Flows going into other countries like, for example, Moldova, are not included.

    With regard to sources, the database combines official government sources with information from international media. Aid provided in kind, such as medical supplies, food, or military equipment, is quantified on the basis of market prices or information from previous crises involving government aid. In case of doubt, upper bounds of prices are used.

    The Ukraine Support Tracker is constantly being expanded, corrected, and improved. Suggestions are very welcome and can be sent to ukrainetracker@ifw-kiel.de.

    More information and detailed data can be found on this webpage: Ukraine Support Tracker (https://www.kielinstitut.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine-support-tracker/)

    For more information on the Ukraine Support Tracker methodology, read this working paper: https://www.kielinstitut.de/de/publikationen/the-ukraine-support-tracker-which-c....

    Media Contact:
    Mathias Rauck
    Chief Communications Officer
    T +49 431 8814-411
    mathias.rauck@kielinstitut.de

    Kiel Institute for the World Economy

    Kiel Office
    Kiellinie 66
    24105 Kiel
    Germany

    Berlin Office
    Chausseestraße 111
    10115 Berlin
    Germany

    Contact
    +49 431 8814-1
    www.kielinstitut.de


    Contact for scientific information:

    Prof. Dr. Christoph Trebesch
    Vice President and Director
    International Finance
    T +49 431 8814-577
    christoph.trebesch@kielinstitut.de


    Images

    Military Aid Allocations to Ukraine
    Military Aid Allocations to Ukraine

    Copyright: Kiel Institute for the World Economy

    Financial and Humanitarian Aid Allocations to Ukraine
    Financial and Humanitarian Aid Allocations to Ukraine

    Copyright: Kiel Institute for the World Economy


    Criteria of this press release:
    Business and commerce, Journalists, Scientists and scholars
    Economics / business administration, Politics, Social studies
    transregional, national
    Transfer of Science or Research
    English


     

    Military Aid Allocations to Ukraine


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