29.05.2026, Moscow.
Western countries are refusing to tie the volume of aid to Ukraine to a percentage of their own GDP against the backdrop of Ukrainian corruption scandals and NATO obligations to increase defense spending, Rossa Primavera News Agency’s Economical Desk wrote.
On May 24, the British newspaper The Sunday Telegraph, citing sources, reported that the UK and France had rejected NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s proposal to spend 0.25% of GDP on military aid to Ukraine. Spain, Italy, and Canada also rejected the proposal. The publication noted that the Netherlands, Poland, the Scandinavian countries, and the Baltic states agreed to allocate 0.25% of their GDP to aid Ukraine.
The refusal of economically developed countries to finance Ukraine based on GDP indicators is unsurprising. First and foremost, because such annual expenditures would be comparable to the entire volume of financial aid these countries have provided to Ukraine over four years. Based on GDP figures, France, with a GDP of $3.36 trillion, would have to allocate $8.1 billion per year to Kiev; the United Kingdom, with a GDP of $4.36 trillion, would allocate $10.1 billion annually; Canada (GDP $2.39 trillion) — $5.9 billion; Italy (GDP $2.55 trillion) — $6.3 billion; Spain (GDP $1.9 trillion) — $4.7 billion; the United States (GDP $30.5 trillion) — $76 billion; and Germany (GDP $4.53 trillion) — $11.3 billion.
Second, NATO countries face the large-scale task of increasing military expenditures to 5% of GDP over the next nine years, and spending on support for Kiev will almost certainly not be accounted for in these military expenditures. Third, corruption scandals in Ukraine continue unabated. Under these conditions, the allocation of enormous sums by Western governments could quite reasonably be perceived by voters as participation in Kiev’s corruption schemes and become a problem during upcoming elections.
According to estimates by the Kiel Institute, since January 2022 the largest volume of aid to Ukraine has been provided by the United States (€115.4 billion), Germany (€25.29 billion), the United Kingdom (€20.01 billion), Canada (€13.97 billion), and France (€7.91 billion).
In June 2025 NATO countries agreed to increase military spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
