Aid to Ukraine: Europe steps up

The United States may be the biggest provider of aid to Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion, but former Soviet states and ex-Soviet satellite states are among Kyiv’s most generous backers.

Here are the latest figures on global aid to Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees:

– US first, Germany second –

The United States remains by far the biggest donor with 70.7 billion euros in military, financial and humanitarian aid pledged to Ukraine between February 24, 2022 and May 31, 2023, according to figures released Thursday by the Germany-based Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

The second-biggest is Germany with 18.01 billion euros (10.68 billion euros in bilateral aid and 7.33 billion euros through the European Union). In third place is the United Kingdom with 10.74 billion euros.

Outside Europe and the US, the biggest donor is Japan, which pledged 6.62 billion euros to Ukraine during the first 15 months of the war.

– Baltics most generous –

Compared to the US their contributions may seem paltry, but the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania allocate a far bigger share of their gross domestic product towards fellow former Soviet nation Ukraine.

Their aid commitments between February 2022 and May 2023 amount to 1.26 percent, 1.09 percent and 0.95 percent of their GDP respectively, compared to 0.33 percent for the US, the Kiel Institute’s aid tracker showed.

Poland and Slovakia, both of which border Ukraine, complete the top five of most generous countries, contributing 0.68 percent and 0.63 percent of their GDP respectively.

Poland was first in the spring of 2022 to provide Ukraine with tanks, in the form of hundreds of Soviet-era vehicles, and this year sent some of its stocks of cutting-edge German-made Leopard 2 tanks.

– Hungary holds back –

Not all of Ukraine’s neighbours have been so generous, however.

Russia ally Hungary, which has avoided criticising Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion, is one of the smallest contributors of aid, amounting to just 0.03 percent of its GDP between February 2022 and May 2023.

And in Slovakia, many citizens oppose the government’s largesse.

Populist pro-Russian former prime minister Robert Fico, whose party is polling strongly ahead of September elections, has led the charge, accusing Bratislava of being under Washington’s thumb.

– Germany and Poland host most refugees –

Among Ukraine’s allies, Germany and Poland have taken in the most refugees, receiving 1.07 million and 995,000 respectively to date. The Czech Republic is next with 346,000, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR.

On a per-capita basis, Montenegro is the most welcoming, with the 38,540 refugees on its soil representing more than 6.1 percent of its population.

Ukrainian refugees make up three percent of the population of Estonia, Moldova and the Czech Republic and more than two percent of those of Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and Latvia.

The influx of refugees has stirred resentment in some countries.

In Estonia, the far-right EKRE party came second in legislative elections in early March with its plea for the government to stop admitting Ukrainian refugees.

France is the EU nation which takes in the least Ukrainian refugees (0.11 percent of its population).(BSS/AFP)