NATO states near Russia view Ukraine’s defense as essential to their own security, and the aid data bears this out. For the Baltic states, for instance, helping Ukraine is not just good politics – it is a strategic necessity given their geographic vulnerability. Estonia leads the way, contributing 2.2 percent of its GDP, with Lithuania (1.8 percent) and Latvia (1.5 percent) following closely. Denmark, which has a vital interest in the security of the Baltic and Arctic regions, is the only other country to allocate more than 2 percent of its GDP to supporting Ukraine. The U.S., despite the eye-popping value of its support, is just the 12th largest contributor as a share of GDP (0.5 percent).
The U.S. has provided nearly $120 billion (115 billion euros) in financial, humanitarian and military aid. This is far more than any single European country or the EU – which itself has no military aid to give – but less than Europe as a whole (more than 132 billion euros). The U.S. is also far and away the biggest contributor of military aid, providing roughly five times more than Germany, the next largest contributor. If the U.S. has its way, however, Europe’s share of the burden is about to climb substantially.
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