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12/10/2025 08:16

Ukraine Support Tracker: Europe fails to offset US aid drop

Mathias Rauck Kommunikation
Kiel Institut für Weltwirtschaft

    Ukraine faces a year with as little news aid allocations ever since the outbreak of the war in 2022. Europe allocated only about EUR 4.2 billion in new military aid to Ukraine—far too little to offset the halt in US support. At the same time, the disparities within Europe widened. France, Germany, and the United Kingdom increased their allocations substantially but remained below the levels seen in the Nordic countries in relative terms. Italy and Spain contributed very little. This is shown in the latest update of the Ukraine Support Tracker, which covers aid allocations until October 2025.

    After a record-high first half of 2025, military aid had already fallen sharply over the summer (Military aid falls sharply despite new NATO initiative/https://www.kielinstitut.de/publications/news/ukraine-support-tracker-military-a...)—a trend that has now continued into September and October. At the current rate, military aid allocations fall short of what would be needed to replace missing US support. While annual allocations averaged roughly EUR 41.6 billion in 2022–2024 (including Europe, the US, and other donors), only EUR 32.5 billion has been allocated so far in 2025. To reach previous levels, an additional EUR 9.1 billion would need to be allocated by year-end, requiring a monthly allocation rate more than twice as high as in recent months.

    “Based on the data available through October, Europe has not been able to sustain the momentum of the first half of 2025,” says Christoph Trebesch, head of the Ukraine Support Tracker (https://www.kielinstitut.de/experts/christoph-trebesch/). “The recent slowdown makes it difficult for Europe to fully offset the absence of US military aid in 2025. If this slower pace continues in the remaining months, 2025 will become the year with the lowest level of new aid allocations ever for Ukraine since the outbreak of the full-scale invasion in 2022.”

    Disparities across European donors widen further

    Although Europe’s overall military support is slowing down, developments varied significantly across the major economies. France, Germany, and the United Kingdom increased their military allocations sharply compared to 2022–2024: Germany nearly tripled its average monthly allocations, while France and the UK each more than doubled theirs. Even so, measured relative to their 2021 GDP, all three remained well below the leading Nordic donors Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. To reach Nordic levels, Europe’s largest economies would need to scale up their contributions substantially.

    The contrast with Italy and Spain was even stronger: neither increased its military allocations in 2025. Italy reduced its already low allocation levels by 15 percent compared to 2022–2024, and Spain recorded no new military aid in 2025. This limited engagement significantly weakened Europe’s overall response.

    “The higher allocations from France, Germany, and the UK are significant,” says Taro Nishikawa, project lead of the Ukraine Support Tracker (https://www.kielinstitut.de/experts/taro-nishikawa/). “But even these three still trail the Nordic countries in relative terms. Meanwhile, the decline of support from Spain and Italy is a notable setback, reinforcing the importance of more balanced burden-sharing across Europe.”

    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 October 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@kielinstitut.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 by Donors
    Military Aid Allocations by Donors

    Copyright: Kiel Institute for the World Economy

    European Military Aid Allocations: "Nordic Four" vs. "Big Five"
    European Military Aid Allocations: "Nordic Four" vs. "Big Five"

    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 by Donors


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    European Military Aid Allocations: "Nordic Four" vs. "Big Five"


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