More sparse promises of aid
Ukraine suffers from war-weariness among its donors
October 15, 2023, 2:17 a.m
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Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian aggressor for almost 20 months, and hopes of an early end to the war have long since proven to be illusory. There is growing concern within the government that its allies are growing weary of the fight.
Ukraine complains that its donors are war-weary. It is more difficult to secure financial aid, said Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko on the sidelines of the meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Marrakech.
Compared to April, Ukraine has to make twice as much effort to secure aid commitments. “I see a lot of fatigue, I see a lot of weakness in our partners,” he said. “They would like to forget the war, but the war is still going on, in full force.”
Marchenko blamed the mood on “a geopolitical shift and the internal political context in different countries.” He specifically referred to upcoming elections in the USA and the EU. Ukraine needs Western financial aid to close a $43 billion budget gap next year. Talks about this were overshadowed last week by the conflict between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas.
In view of this, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also fears that support for Ukraine and especially for its army will become more fragile. “As terrorism spreads around the world, it is important that the world sends a clear signal that the fight against terrorism will not falter anywhere,” he said in his evening video address. Zelensky warned during a visit to Brussels last week that Russia would take advantage of declining support for Ukraine to gather new strength in its war of aggression, which has already been going on for almost 20 months.