Ukrainian soldiers on the way to the front in the Zaporizhia region.Image: keystone
After the USA significantly reduced its direct support for Ukraine in 2025, Europe is taking on the brunt of the aid. The EU has absorbed much of the shortfall, but the change also raises political and financial challenges.
After almost four years of war against Russia, Ukraine remains at the center of geopolitical support: But 2025 saw a remarkable change. The USA in particular has practically stopped its traditional aid – military support fell by around 99 percent compared to the previous year, and financial and humanitarian aid was even reduced to zero.
Europe is now filling the gap left behind. New numbers one Study by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) show that European states and the EU institutions have significantly increased their support in 2025. Military aid in particular has increased by around 67 percent after adjusting for inflation, which can be attributed to increased funding from national budgets and the EU.
Financial and humanitarian aid also increased by around 59 percent compared to the average for the years 2022 to 2024.
In absolute terms, this meant that Europe provided almost as much aid for 2025 as in previous years combined, even though the USA had almost completely reduced its share. Around 35 billion euros flowed into financial and humanitarian programs through EU institutions, which accounted for around 90 percent of European commitment. Military assistance continued to be provided primarily bilaterally between individual states and Ukraine.
Germany played the most important role in the increased EU aid: In 2025, the German government provided the largest bilateral package within Europe with around 9 billion euros in military aid, but other countries such as Great Britain (5.4 billion euros), France (2.2 billion euros) and the Nordic states (9.9 billion euros) have also significantly increased their contributions, in contrast to Spain or Italy.
An additional 90 billion from Europe
Despite increased aid to Ukraine from Europe, the situation remains difficult. “Ukraine’s growing financial needs are now largely financed through loans and grants at the EU level,” says Christian Trebesch, head of the “Ukraine Support Tracker” at IfW Kiel. “The new loan of 90 billion euros agreed at the end of 2025 is part of a general trend.”
On Wednesday, the European Parliament approved the EU heads of state and government’s plans for A new loan worth billions to Ukraine was approved. It plans to make up to 90 billion euros available to Ukraine over two years. 60 billion of this is earmarked for defense-related spending.
The EU wants to incur up to 90 billion euros in debt to help Ukraine in its war against Russia. This also entails risks. Long-term debt could endanger the EU’s financial stability and limit future budget options. It is also unclear how these debts will be paid off in the long term. (pre)