Anatoliy Bulavko, a member of the standing commission on national security in Belarus’s House of Representatives, spoke about how aid to Ukraine is distributed during the “PRO Army” program on the SB TV YouTube channel on April 4, 2025.
“It’s much easier, probably, to flood Ukraine with weapons, since there’s still some left … But I strongly disagree with calling that help. It’s not help. It’s like throwing a crowbar or a dumbbell to someone who’s drowning. That’s not help. Real help would mean funding social programs, supporting the civilian population. They have that? And if they do, it’s in such tiny amounts that it never really reaches the people who need it,” Bulavko concluded.
Over the past three years, Western donor countries have provided Ukraine with roughly €267 billion, according to February 2025 data from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, one of the world’s most influential think tanks. Less than half of that went to military needs, while 44% was spent on government support and another 7% on humanitarian aid.
Examples of how Ukraine used European Union financial aid in 2023 include paying salaries and pensions, rebuilding infrastructure, keeping hospitals and schools running, and maintaining the country’s macroeconomic stability.