What will happen with the US aid to Ukraine?

Origin: Domani

In Kyiv, meanwhile, they are breathing a sigh of relief because the worst-case scenario has been averted.

“Thanks to European aid, the Ukrainian budget can do without American funding,” explains Yurii Gaidai, economist at the Centre for Economic Strategies.

With a deficit for 2024 of around EUR 30 billion, the Ukrainian government depends on international aid not only to finance the war effort, but also to keep hospitals open and pay pensions.

The EU Council’s approval on 1 February of EUR 50 billion in funding until 2027 leaves just under EUR 10 billion uncovered. An impressive figure, but one that Kiev can manage to cover with new public debt issues and other financial measures, Gaidai explains.

With the approval of the new European funding a week ago, Kyiv is no longer at risk of economic collapse, but every day it spends without US funding, and the weapons it needs to buy, is paid for dearly by the troops at the front, Ukrainian government officials and members claim.