The five largest EU countries and the UK virtually stopped providing military assistance to Ukraine in July. At the same time, a downward trend in aid to Kyiv from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Poland has been observed since April, Politico reported on Wednesday, August 17, citing data from the Kiel Institute for the Economy. world. which since the beginning of the war in Ukraine has maintained control of military supplies to Kyiv.

New data suggests that for the entire past month, the six largest European countries have not offered Ukraine any new bilateral military commitments, July being the first month since the start of a full-scale Russian invasion, it is further indicated. “Although the war has entered a critical phase, new aid initiatives have dried up,” says Christophe Trebesh, project manager for Ukraine Support Tracker.

The publication recalls that last week the Western allies met in Copenhagen to agree new assistance commitments, managed to obtain promises to supply Ukraine with weapons worth 1.5 billion euros. According to Trebes, this number is “insignificant compared to what has been achieved in previous conferences”.

Expert: Much larger amounts should be allocated for military assistance to Ukraine

Christophe Trebesh urged Europe’s biggest states to treat the war in Ukraine as a eurozone crisis or a coronavirus pandemic, two events that have prompted the continent to send hundreds of billions of euros to implement emergency funding measures. “If we compare the speed with which the checkbook was withdrawn and the value of the amounts provided with what is offered to Ukraine, this is a pittance,” he said. The Pandemic Recovery Fund includes approximately €800 billion in loans and grants, and total military assistance to Ukraine is just a small part of that amount, Trebesh explained. “Given what’s at stake, this is surprisingly small,” he added.

As Politico notes, the data is a sign that military aid to Ukraine, despite historic shifts in European defense policy, may be waning as Kyiv launches a decisive counter-offensive. Furthermore, they confirm the views repeatedly expressed by the Ukrainian military and politicians who accuse the main European countries of lagging behind the United States on the issue of military assistance to Ukraine, it is further indicated.