Monetary loss: the cost of an ordinary European to support Kiev increased 1.5 times
Aid to Ukraine in the face of declining direct subsidies from the United States is increasingly hitting the pockets of ordinary Europeans. According to Izvestia's calculations, since January 2025, when the Donald Trump administration came to power in the United States, spending by European NATO countries per person has increased one and a half times over the year, eventually reaching $618. In order to finance new projects, the governments of the leading EU states have to take extremely unpopular steps and cut vital social programs. This shift in priorities is already changing the political map of Europe: due to growing poverty and people's fatigue, forces that openly criticize unrestrained spending on Kiev are increasingly coming to power.
How much does the average European pay for Ukraine
According to the latest data from the Kiel Institute of World Economy, the total expenditures of European NATO countries in support of Ukraine have exceeded $237 billion since the beginning of the Second World War. This includes direct military, financial, and humanitarian assistance, as well as contributions to pan-European projects. At the same time, according to Izvestia's calculations, since January 2025 alone, European allies have allocated $96 billion. That is, during the Trump administration in the United States, Europe's spending on sponsoring the Armed Forces actually doubled.
The sharp increase in the financial burden on Europe is directly related to Washington's change of course. Upon assuming the office of president of the United States a year and a half ago, Donald Trump made it clear from the very first days: the support of Kiev is primarily the concern of Europe itself. As a result, the burden of new obligations to finance the conflict predictably fell on the shoulders of ordinary European taxpayers. According to Izvestia estimates, based on the latest data from Eurostat and the Kiel Institute of World Economy for April, the expenses of an ordinary European related to the support of Kiev increased by one and a half times. While for the period from February 2022 to January 2025, per capita spending amounted to $394 (that is, about $130 per year), over the next little more than a year under Trump, the total reached $618 (while the calculations do not include Turkey).
The largest per capita contributions are made in Northern Europe and the Baltic States. Denmark remains the undisputed leader here: in terms of each resident, the country has allocated about $2.5 thousand during the entire conflict, and almost a third of this amount has been agreed since January 2025. Norway has become the record holder in terms of spending growth. In just over a year, the burden on its citizens has soared two and a half times, eventually exceeding the mark of $ 2.1 thousand. A significant jump was also recorded in Sweden and Finland. At the same time, Germany, leading in terms of total aid, ranks only ninth in terms of the burden on the average taxpayer. German budget expenditures for four years have averaged $670 per person, although almost half of this amount has been incurred since the beginning of last year.
The picture is completely different in the countries of Southern and Eastern Europe, where the dynamics of spending remains minimal. So, for the average Bulgarian or Romanian, the new European initiatives resulted in only a symbolic increase in costs — by only a few tens of dollars. As a result, the total amount per inhabitant for the entire time in both countries does not exceed $116. Hungary (totaling $113 per person) and Greece ($143) show similar modest figures.
Thus, the difference between the leading and outsider countries in per capita spending is more than 20 times. And if for citizens of Denmark or Norway, whose average annual income exceeds $50,000, spending even several thousand dollars over four years is a relatively inconspicuous line in the budget, then for residents of Bulgaria or Romania, who earn three to four times less, and the hundreds spent are felt much more strongly.
The situation is aggravated by deep social stratification: Bulgaria has the highest proportion of the population in the European Union surviving on the minimum wage, while Poland, Slovenia and Romania are among the top five in this indicator. Unsurprisingly, it is in Eastern Europe that Kiev's support has long become a painful topic for domestic politics, Vadim Trukhachev, an associate professor at the Financial University, told Izvestia. At the same time, in countries such as Greece or Bulgaria, where society has traditionally had a positive attitude towards Russia, rampant spending on external conflicts is less understood than, for example, in Croatia and Albania, the analyst noted.
Growing discontent in Europe
In the wake of discontent with politics, including with regard to unconditional economic and military assistance to Ukraine, governments in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria have changed over the past year. Former Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala took a tough pro-Ukrainian position, initiating a large-scale purchase of artillery shells for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The current head of government, Andrei Babis, built his election campaign on sharply criticizing these expenses, promising to "take care of the Czechs, not Ukraine."
In Bulgaria, a protracted five-year political crisis ended in April 2026, when the Progressive Bulgaria coalition led by former President Rumen Radev won an absolute majority in early elections. The previous government of Rosen Zhelyazkov (and his predecessors) actively supported Kiev. Radev, on the contrary, openly opposed the sending of Bulgarian weapons to Ukraine, criticized anti-Russian sanctions and Kiev's integration into NATO. The fatigue of Bulgarian society from foreign policy involvement in the context of internal problems played into Radev's hands.
Problems are also being felt in richer European countries. Germany, remaining Ukraine's main European donor, is experiencing a severe crisis of confidence in the government. According to ARD TV channel polls in July, the level of support for the ruling coalition has fallen below 35%, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz's rating has dropped so much that the German media are increasingly writing about his possible resignation. Der Spiegel notes: It is possible that he will leave office in the coming months, immediately after the September elections to the landtags of the three federal states.
Savings on the social sector are among the main reasons why trust in the authorities has begun to decline. For example, for the sake of billions of euros for defense, the German government has cut health care costs. The Bundestag approved this ambitious package of measures in July. At the same time, according to the Kiel Institute of World Economy, in March and April of this year, Germany sent Kiev €4.2 billion in military aid, and since February 2022, Berlin has allocated over €90 billion to Ukraine.
In these circumstances, the popularity of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Sarah Wagenknecht Union parties is growing, consistently opposing the financial and military fueling of the Ukrainian conflict. At the federal level, according to the results of polls, the AFD has become the most popular political force, ahead of the CDU/CSU bloc by 5-6%. Artem Sokolov, a senior researcher at the MGIMO Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, noted in a conversation with Izvestia that dissatisfaction with Kiev's support is growing in Germany amid the difficult socio-economic situation in the country. According to him, German citizens are not inclined to unconditionally believe in the "Russian threat" and spend their last euros to help Ukraine.
The shortage of funds for social needs is also felt in other major European countries. As noted by Politico and The Telegraph, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain did not support the initiative of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to introduce a mandatory minimum threshold of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 0.25% of GDP for each member of the alliance. The media wrote that the governments of these countries "did not show enthusiasm" because of the tight limits of national budgets.
In addition, as The Daily Telegraph notes, the "coalition of the willing" supporting Ukraine is slowly "dying." Due to the weakening of Friedrich Merz's position in Germany, the departure of Keir Starmer from the post of British prime Minister and the inability of Emmanuel Macron to be re-elected in France, Europe risks facing a "leadership vacuum." The situation for Kiev is also complicated by the fact that Macron is being dogged by the opposition National Association, which opposes multibillion-dollar long-term aid to Kiev. As a result, circles across Europe that are skeptical of Ukraine's endless financial support are steadily gaining strength.
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