Who really pays for what in the war on Ukraine? A tale of three burdens

As transatlantic talks complete Ukraine’s early intensify, 1 taxable looms large, peculiarly successful nan statements made by US President Donald Trump: Who is paying what?

The statement complete nan billions poured into nan warfare effort to thief Ukraine fend disconnected nan Russian attacks successful Moscow's all-out warfare since February 2022, and whether nan load is shared fairly, now sits astatine nan centre of nan ongoing negotiated efforts.

Euronews breaks down precisely who is paying what, and much importantly — really overmuch of a load this costs is, comparative to each country.

Defence spending successful position of US and EU GDP

In November of past year, Ukraine's parliament, nan Verkhovna Rada, approved a grounds subject fund of 2.23 trillion hryvnias (€45.9bn) for 2025. At nan time, this amounted to 26.3% of nan country's GDP aliases 55% of its full budget.

In July, nan magnitude was revised to see an other 412.3 cardinal hryvnias (€8.6m) for further subject unit support, weapons procurement and manufacturing, bringing nan full up to 31% of GDP aliases 67% of each cardinal authorities spending.

Spending arsenic a stock of nan fund indicates nan proportionality of a government’s ain resources allocated to a priority, specified arsenic defence, compared to each different expenditures.

Whereas spending arsenic a stock of GDP measures that aforesaid magnitude against nan size of nan full economy—so it includes backstage companies and different economical activity — to show nan load connected nan nation's system arsenic a whole.

While Ukraine's 2.64 trillion hryvnias (€55bn) defence fund reflects contiguous endurance needs, nan broader warfare costs uncover a €700 cardinal full load spanning reconstruction, humanitarian needs, and economical losses. Defence spending, though historically unprecedented, represents conscionable 1 constituent of nan war's financial effect connected nan country.

In comparison, nan EU's spending connected Ukraine's defence efforts — which includes some EU nonstop spending and bilateral spending by personnel states — is astir €72 cardinal for nan three-year period, 2022-2024.

In position of percent of GDP, that comes retired astatine astir 0.3% of EU GDP per year.

The US spending connected Ukrainian defence unsocial complete nan aforesaid 3 years has been $66.9 cardinal (€57.3bn), according to nan State Department.

This is overmuch little than nan $300 cardinal fig US President Donald Trump has mentioned successful nan past.

In position of percent of GDP, it amounts to astir 0.08% of US GDP per year.

We put together nan chart beneath to visualise nan stark differences.

While it comes arsenic nary astonishment that nan magnitude spent connected Ukraine's defence for economical powerhouses for illustration nan US and EU is only a sliver of their yearly GDP, it puts nan total, existent costs of Russia's warfare for Ukrainians into perspective.

Cost of nan warfare successful Ukraine successful position of nan load to individual citizens

Another measurement to put nan numbers into discourse is really overmuch each individual national pays for nan defence costs of Ukraine.

If we were to return Ukraine's defence spending fund and disagreement based connected a wide estimate of its existent population, astatine astir 37.86 cardinal — figures are unclear owed to a ample number of refugees and internally displaced Ukrainians — past we tin deduce that complete nan 2022–2024 period, each Ukrainian efficaciously paid astir €3,424 toward defence aliases astir €1,312 per year.

This is acold higher, some perfectly and relatively, than what US aliases EU citizens contribute.

Pinning down a firm, fixed fig for backing sent by nan US to Ukraine since 2022 is difficult arsenic backing and dispersement decisions do not neatly align pinch defence aliases spending budgets nan measurement they did for our Ukraine calculation, but fto america presume nan astir generous numbers.

If we were to return nan Kiel Institute's fig of $130.6 cardinal (€111.28 billion) — this includes some nan defence support and humanitarian assistance figures complete astatine slightest 3 years — and divided that by nan US organization number, past each US national has paid $127 (€108) per twelvemonth for nan defence of Ukraine.

For nan EU, if we erstwhile again return nan Kiel Institute's estimates of full subject and financial commitments astatine astir €138 billion, past nan fig for each EU national is astir €95 per year.

Now, dissimilar nan US estimate, nan figures should technically not beryllium nan aforesaid for nan full bloc because immoderate countries lend much to Ukraine's defence and others lend little-to-nothing isolated from nan associated EU budget, for illustration Hungary.

Also, immoderate non-EU countries successful Europe specified arsenic Norway lend to nan Ukraine's defence via an further instrument, nan European Peace Facility. Most estimations of EU assistance to Kyiv do not see nan EPF funds.

But for nan liking of estimation, fto america opportunity nan load is evenly dispersed out. The chart beneath illustrates nan stark quality from nan known figures.

Of course, it should beryllium said that nan mean yearly net of a Ukrainian national is astir €3,500 — making their publication to nan warfare effort balanced to astir a 3rd of nan mean yearly salary.

The numbers supra look overmuch little of a load if we comparison nan average salary successful nan EU, which is astir €29,600 according to Eurostat, and successful nan US, which is astir $62,000 aliases €56,880.

Costs of wartime destruction

Ukraine faces €448.6 cardinal successful reconstruction needs complete nan adjacent decade, astir 9 times nan 2025 defence budget. The World Bank's Fourth Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, released connected 25 February, documented €150 cardinal successful nonstop infrastructure damage.

Housing harm and demolition lead each sectors astatine €48.8 billion, affecting 2.5 cardinal households and requiring €71 cardinal for reconstruction. Transport infrastructure sustained €31.6 cardinal successful damage, needing €66.7 cardinal for afloat restoration.

The power sector, targeted heavy successful 2024, faces reconstruction costs reaching €58.2 billion.

In comparison, nan US and nan EU person seen nary nonstop infrastructure costs aliases damages owed to fighting, isolated from incidents related to Russian sabotage specified arsenic nan harm done to subsea telecom cables successful nan Baltic region successful December 2024.

These figures seizure only nan economical broadside of nan war. The acold greater costs is borne successful lives lost, families displaced and communities destroyed — numbers that nary ledger tin afloat relationship for.