'Surprising' drop in military aid to Ukraine in recent months, report says
Military aid to Ukraine has fallen dramatically in recent months, a report by the Kiel Institute published on Oct. 14 has found.
Military aid to Ukraine fell in the months of July and August despite the introduction of the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), which allows Ukraine's European NATO allies to purchase weapons for Kyiv from the U.S.
The first delivery of military equipment under the PURL program arrived in Ukraine a month prior, Suspilne reported on Sept. 18, citing an unnamed NATO official.
"(T)he decline in military aid in July and August is surprising. Despite the NATO PURL initiative, Europe is scaling back its overall military support. What will be crucial now is how the figures evolve in the autumn," Christoph Trebesch, head of the Ukraine Support Tracker and Research Director at the Kiel Institute, said.
Despite the signing of the PURL agreement between the U.S. and NATO on July 14, deliveries of military aid have only fallen over the summer. Most of the military aid Ukraine received was provided under the new initiative, but failed to match the previous support in recent months.
In July and August, total military aid to Ukraine fell 43% lower than the amount received in the first half of the year.
At the beginning of the year, as the U.S. stopped delivering new military aid packages, Ukraine's European allies stepped up to fill the gap. Kyiv continued to receive consistent support in the first half of 2025, which even exceeded amounts provided years prior, the Kiel Institute found.
Military aid from Europe to Ukraine fell by 57% in July and August, even as Ukraine's European allies continued to contribute through NATO's PURL program.
Although military aid has fallen in recent months, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine has stayed consistent.
"The overall level of financial and humanitarian support has remained comparatively stable —even in the absence of U.S. contributions," Trebesch said. "It is now crucial that this stability extends to military support as well, as Ukraine relies on it to sustain its defense efforts on the ground."
Several European countries have pledged support to Ukraine through the PURL initiative.
Denmark has allocated about $90 million, while Sweden has contributed $275 million and Norway approximately $135 million.
The Netherlands funded the first aid package with $590 million, and Germany has pledged $500 million to Ukraine.
