In order to be able to survive in the war against Russia, Ukraine urgently needs financial aid in addition to weapons. But these falter. Since February, the most important donors of more than 30 billion euros in promised funds have actually paid out just six billion. This is the result of calculations by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW). The “world” had previously reported about it.
In the so-called Ukraine Tracker, IfW Research Director Christoph Trebesch and his team record all military, financial and humanitarian aid that has been promised since January 24th. So far, this affects 37 states. Information from official government agencies and reports from international media serve as sources. Private donations and funds from international organizations are not taken into account.
The aid is essential for Ukraine. “The war causes tax revenues to collapse and at the same time causes enormous costs, for example to pay the soldiers or to repair essential infrastructure,” says Trebesch. The Central Bank of Ukraine is being forced to raise interest rates drastically, which is putting even more strain on the economy.
The International Monetary Fund estimates that the country is creating a financial gap of five billion euros per month. “Since June, this corresponds to more than 15 billion euros in external financial aid needed,” says Trebesch.
The funds promised by the EU have increased significantly since mid-May, but the USA is still by far the largest donor. The US pledges make up 55 percent of all pledges.
The financial aid from the EU also consists almost entirely of loans, the IfW notes. As a result, Ukraine has a large mountain of debt. In contrast, the USA had mainly promised grants that did not have to be repaid.
After the USA, Great Britain is the second most important donor with 4.8 billion. Germany comes third with 3.3 billion and then Poland with 2.8 billion.
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If you put the commitments in relation to the economic power of the countries, the Baltic states and Poland are doing the most, significantly more than large European countries such as Germany, Italy and France.
The aid packages that the countries have put together for their own populations to cushion the negative consequences of the war are disproportionately larger than the aid for Kyiv, notes IfW director Trebesch in the “Welt”. Germany has mobilized 16 billion for the energy package alone since the beginning of the war.
