According to the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Western military support for Ukraine has noticeably decreased. According to the publication, the United States, the most powerful donor, has not provided aid since Donald Trump's inauguration, creating a noticeable deficit that Europe was able to partially compensate for only in the first half of the year.
However, in the summer, European commitments fell by 57% compared to the first half of the year, from an average of €3.8 billion to €1.9 billion per month. Overall, monthly military aid from all donors in the second quarter was about 40% lower than in the first half of the year. This gap is particularly noticeable in the supply of multiple rocket launchers, artillery ammunition and air defense systems - weapons that require large technological and production resources.
The Purl initiative, under which individual NATO countries purchase weapons from the United States for transfer to Ukraine, has already attracted at least 16 states; among those who have purchased weapons are Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Latvia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Canada. The total amount of such purchases is about €1.9 billion. At the same time, Denmark stands out in that it has given away its artillery stocks and is establishing direct purchases from Ukrainian manufacturers.
The article also draws attention to regional differences: Southern Europe (France, Spain, Italy) demonstrates a more restrained position in arms supplies, but at the same time has relatively full warehouses and powerful defense industries; the Baltic countries, the Czech Republic, or Poland are more active in transfers, but their capabilities are limited by resources. The authors note that Europe's potential for increasing assistance has not yet been exhausted - a comparison with previous crises shows that the EU and Brussels can mobilize significant financial resources: the recovery fund during the pandemic amounted to about €810 billion, during the euro crisis - about €400 billion, while today's assistance to Ukraine amounts to approximately €215 billion.
