"Ukrainian fatigue" among Kyiv's allies has led to a sharp decline in new Western aid packages to Ukraine, which have fallen to the lowest level since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. With the blockade Republicans on the new aid package in the US Congress and Hungarian Viktor Orbán's veto threats at next week's European Council summit, support for Ukraine is at a critical point.
Aid pledges fell by almost 90% between August and October 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, according to the Kiel Institute, which has monitored aid packages in the military, financial and of humanitarian aid promised and delivered to Ukraine since the beginning of the war.
According to data from the German research center, the new commitments assumed between the beginning of August and the end of October amount to 2.11 billion euros, 87% less than the same period in 2022. It is the "lowest" quarterly amount ” since the invasion.
Since the conflict broke out, Ukraine's allies have pledged to deliver around 255 billion euros in aid, of which 182 billion are short-term. These commitments include 141 billion euros in financial aid, almost 16 billion in humanitarian aid and 98 billion in military aid.
From August to October 2023, among the 42 donor countries tracked by the institute, "only 20 have committed to new aid packages" and the new commitments from the European Union and the United States have been "limited". "The prospects are uncertain", according to the institute, "since the largest pending commitment, that of the EU, has not been approved and American aid is decreasing".
"Given the uncertainty surrounding the continuation of American aid, Ukraine can only hope that the EU will finally adopt the €50 billion support package it announced some time ago. Another delay would clearly strengthen Putin's position," warns Christoph Trebesch, who heads the monitoring team.
On Wednesday, Republicans blocked a budget bill in the Senate that included more than $61 billion in military aid for Kyiv. The White House warned on Monday that at the end of the year the Government will not have money to support Ukraine in the war.
European support is also faltering just days before the December 14-15 summit due to Orbán's frontal opposition to discussing the start of negotiations for Ukraine's EU accession and sending 'an aid package of around 50,000 million.
The Hungarian Prime Minister went to Paris yesterday to discuss the issue with Emmanuel Macron and spoke with Pedro Sánchez, rotating president of the European Council. Kyiv also announced its willingness to organize a meeting between the leaders of both countries to reconcile positions.
