New pledges of international aid to Ukraine “dried up in July” according to a comprehensive tracker, raising concerns about continued Western commitment to supporting Kyiv.
According to the Ukraine Support Tracker, Kyiv only received around €1.5 billion ($1.51 billion) between July 2 and August 3.
During this time “no large EU country… made significant new pledges” despite fierce fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops.
“The newest update of the Ukraine Support Tracker (July 2 to August 3) shows that, in July, Ukraine received only around €1.5 billion in new pledges of support. In total, the tracker now records commitments of €84.2 billion ($84.9 billion).”
Christoph Trebesch, who heads the Ukraine Support Tracker team, added: “In July, donor countries initiated almost no new aid, but they did deliver some of the already committed support such as weapon systems.”
Speaking to Newsweek Mike Martin, a visiting war studies fellow at King’s College, London insisted critical supplies are still being provided.
Asked about the lack of fresh pledges in July he replied: “Everyone’s on holiday. The U.S., by far the largest supplier, and the U.K. are still stumping up.”
The Ukraine Support Tracker compiles the “military, financial and humanitarian aid” promised to Kyiv by other countries.
It currently stretches from January 24 to August 3, with another update expected in September.
In total the tracker shows the United States has committed $25.2 billion in military aid to Ukraine, far more than the U.K., which comes in second place, with $4.1 billion.
By contrast Germany and France have pledged $1.2 billion and $0.2 billion respectively, though both have also contributed to a joint-E.U. fund of $2.5 billion.
Trebesch argued the E.U. is providing “surprisingly little” assistance when compared with its €800 billion coronavirus support fund.
He added: “When you compare the speed at which the checkbook came out and the size of the money that was delivered, compared to what is on offer for Ukraine, it is tiny in comparison.”
There have been repeated calls for western European states, in particular Germany and France, to increase their level of military aid to Ukraine.
Speaking to Politico, Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks said: “If we are wanting the war to end as soon as possible, they need to ask themselves, are they doing enough?”
He suggested Berlin and Paris should increase their support so it equals that provided by countries like Poland and the Czech Republic, on a GDP per capita basis.
In July Ukraine achieved a number of military victories, hitting arms dumps and command posts behind Russian lines with U.S. donated High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
However, speaking to Newsweek, retired U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Mark Cancian warned Ukraine’s supply of HIMARS missiles could be depleted in the next three to four months.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies senior advisor added: “We will get to that point where the U.S. will have to reduce the number of missiles provided because the stocks will be running low.”
According to British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, the Russian military is “starting to fail in many areas” and is “unlikely to ever succeed in occupying Ukraine.”
[Source: https://www.newsweek.com/aid-pledges-ukraine-dry-tracker-shows-us-leading-support-1735061]