FT reported on the EU's ongoing audit of military aid to Ukraine

РБК:  The European External Action Service (EEAS)  has begun an audit of the military assistance that EU member states have provided to Ukraine since February 2022, The Financial Times (FT) reports, citing sources.

The check began against the backdrop of statements from some states that “they did not send as many weapons as they could,” the publication writes. It will be based on information that the countries themselves provide at the request of the EU diplomatic service. According to one of the FT's interlocutors, the initiative has already caused resistance from a number of countries that do not want to hand over full data. The service plans to present its findings before the EU leaders' summit on February 1.

The decision to audit came after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in January demanded a comparison of EU countries' military supplies to Kyiv and an assessment of "what concrete contribution European partners will make to support Ukraine this year." According to him, now the volume of planned deliveries is “too small.”

According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, by the end of October 2023, Germany had provided more than €17 billion in military aid to Ukraine. As the FT notes, this is five times more than Denmark, the second largest donor. Scholz's statement was perceived as a reproach to countries such as France and Italy, whose commitments to support Kyiv are much smaller, the publication writes. But privately, the German chancellor was supported by senior officials in Brussels, who believe that “some states could provide Kyiv with more weapons.”

The UK also took up the audit of military aid to Ukraine. In the US, an audit found that officials did not properly track $1 billion worth of supplies to Kyiv, which included man-portable missile systems, kamikaze drones, and night vision devices.

The United States remains the largest donor among countries providing assistance to Kyiv: it allocated €71.3 billion to Ukraine, of which €43.8 billion was in military support. In second place is Germany (€20.9 billion, including €17.1 billion in the military sector). Aid from all EU countries amounted to €84.8 billion, with Brussels allocating €77.1 billion for financial support.

Russia condemns both financial and military aid to Ukraine. According to the authorities, by helping Kyiv, Western countries are only “adding fuel to the fire.” The Kremlin also believes that Europe and the United States are starting to feel tired “from the burden they have shouldered.”