The amount of new aid promised to Ukraine by Western countries from August to October 2023 reached a record low. The amount of support is almost 90% less than at this time last year, according to the research data of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
The total cost of new aid packages in the period from August to October 2023 amounted to EUR 2.11 billion – the lowest figure since January 2022. The main donors to Ukraine are Germany, Finland, Ireland, Croatia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as Canada and the United Kingdom.
The United States remains the largest donor of military aid, with the total amount of aid from American partners at EUR 44 billion. However, Germany is quickly catching up with Washington, with military commitments totaling more than EUR 17 billion. EU countries are also catching up with the US in the amount of promised military aid and are already ahead of them by this indicator, the study says.
In total, Ukraine was promised 25 billion for heavy weapons from January 2022 to October 2023 – 43% of the announced deliveries are for the USA, and 47% are for all EU countries and institutions combined.
It was earlier reported that on December 6, the law on providing aid to Ukraine, as well as Israel and Taiwan, did not pass a procedural vote in the Senate of the US Congress. Earlier, the Office of the President of Ukraine stated that without the help of the United States of America, Ukraine risks losing the war with Russia.
At the same time, Russia is strengthening its position. The Kremlin is increasing cooperation with Iran in the defense sector. On December 7, Russian President Putin met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow. The parties discussed, among other things, the turnover between the countries, which increased by 20% last year against the background of trade in attack drones.
“The obvious proof of that are the drones that Iran continues to provide Russia. Heck, they’ve helped Russia now create a manufacturing facility on Russian soil so that they can build their own Iranian-model drones which are continuing to attack the people of Ukraine and Ukrainian infrastructure,” said John Kirby, US National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator.
Iran also wants to benefit from such a partnership by increasing its own military capabilities. “We have reason to believe they want their hands on some sophisticated Russian military capabilities. Attack helicopters, maybe fixed-wing aircraft, missiles – cruise and/or ballistic. I can’t sit here and tell you that we’ve seen actual evidence of the movement of those kinds of defense articles. But there’s clearly a growing relationship in the defense realm between these two countries,” Kirby said.
Such cooperation is dangerous not only for Ukrainians but also for the inhabitants of the Middle East. The modern capabilities available to Iran make its “destabilising activity all the more worrisome,” the White House said.
Cover: Sergei Bobylyov/Pool/AFP
