World

New aid pledges to Ukraine at lowest level since war began: study

Residents and neighbors carry belongings out of a house hit by recent shelling in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on November 30, 2023, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)

Ukraine’s allies have drastically scaled back their pledges of new aid to the country, which have fallen to their lowest level since the start of the war, the Kiel Institute’s Ukraine aid tracker showed Thursday.

“The dynamics of support to Ukraine have slowed,” the German-based institute said, adding that new military, financial and humanitarian aid promised to Ukraine between August and October 2023 fell almost 90 percent from the same period in 2022, reaching its lowest point since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

ALSO READ: Russian court extends detention of US journalist Gershkovich

The figures come amid signs of growing cracks in Western support for Ukraine as Kyiv’s highly anticipated counteroffensive fails to yield a breakthrough and the world’s attention pivots to the Israel-Hamas war.

In the United States, Senate Republicans are blocking additional Ukraine funding in a row with Democrats over US border security, while in the European Union, negotiations on a package worth 50 billion euros ($53 billion) over the next four years are dragging on.

The Kiel Institute figures showed that newly committed aid between August and October 2023 came to just 2.11 billion euros, a drop of 87 percent year-on-year.

Of 42 donor countries tracked by the study, only 20 had committed new aid packages to Ukraine in the last three months, the smallest share since the start of the war.

ALSO READ: Xi’s Moscow visit risks further emboldening Putin, say analysts

“Given the uncertainty over further US aid, Ukraine can only hope for the EU to finally pass its long-announced 50 billion euro support package,” the institute said, adding that further delay would “clearly strengthen” Russia’s hand.

The 27-member European Union is the biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine, with Germany and Nordic countries particularly stepping in to fill the gap left by a divided US Congress.

EU countries committed 780 million euros in heavy weapons to Ukraine between August and October, compared to 500 million euros in US assistance.

Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine’s allies and multilateral organisations have pledged nearly 255 billion euros in aid, of which 141 billion euros in financial aid, 98 billion euros in military aid and nearly 16 billion euros in humanitarian aid.

ALSO READ: ‘People’s court’ calls for Putin to be charged, prosecuted