German economists report increased European aid to Ukraine in 2025

Europe significantly increased its aid to Ukraine last year, according to an analysis published by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy on Wednesday.

Adjusted for inflation, Europe's military aid was 67% higher than the average for the years 2022 to 2024, the report said. Financial and humanitarian aid increased by 59%.

Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for almost four years. 

While Europe provided more aid than in the past, Ukraine received less support overall in 2025, as the US was absent as a significant donor, the institute's Ukraine Support Tracker shows.

Total military aid was 13% below the average of the past three years. Financial and humanitarian aid was around 5% lower.

The EU provided almost 90% of financial and humanitarian aid, which corresponded to €35.1 billion (about $42 billion).

The head of the research project at the Kiel Institute, Christoph Trebesch, said that there was a trend towards an increase in the EU's share in this area.

He said the development means that the burden is distributed more fairly than before, according to each country's share of the EU's gross domestic product (GDP).

Trebesch said that military aid is organized differently, as it is provided directly between countries. The aid, which includes ammunition, for example, mainly comes from northern and western Europe. "A few countries are providing more and more," said Trebesch.

In contrast, only 5% of military aid comes from southern and eastern Europe, according to the data, drawn from government agencies and media reports across 40 countries.

The Ukraine Support Tracker records military, financial and humanitarian aid that has been pledged to Ukraine since January 24, 2022, meaning it began a month before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.