Washington halts new $61 billion aid, Europe must take responsibility

The last major US aid package for Ukraine, worth $61 billion, was approved almost a year ago and could be exhausted by mid-year.

According to Timothy Ash, an expert at the British think tank Chatham House, support from European countries has increased to record levels. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, European Union countries have provided Ukraine with €138 billion in aid, €23 billion more than the amount provided by the United States. However, the United States still leads in military support, spending €65 billion compared to €64 billion from European countries.

According to calculations by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, to maintain the average annual amount of aid to Ukraine at €82 billion without US participation, European countries, the United Kingdom, and Norway would have to allocate 0.2% of their GDP annually.

At the moment, this level of spending is observed only in a few countries, in particular in Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the Baltic countries. The large European economies lag far behind: Germany allocates 0.13% of its GDP to support Ukraine, France 0.05%, Italy 0.04%, and Spain 0.03%. These countries need to increase their spending to achieve the required indicators significantly.

Against this background, diplomatic relations have deteriorated. Peace talks in London scheduled for April 23 with the participation of the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Ukraine have effectively collapsed. According to information published in The New York Times, the reason for the cancellation of the participation of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Special Representative Stephen Witkoff was Ukraine’s refusal to accept the peace terms proposed by the United States, which included recognition of the annexation of Crimea and freezing the front line.

The US State Department attributed Rubio’s cancellation to a “busy schedule,” while Witkoff traveled to Moscow for the first time in weeks. For talks with President Putin, the situation surrounding Trump’s “100-day plan,” which envisages ending the war by May 9, continues to cause widespread discussion worldwide.