Europe significantly increased its military support for Ukraine during May and June 2026, but American weapons continue to play a key role in supplying Kiev, according to the findings of a new study.
The latest report on aid to Ukraine, published by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, notes that the increase in European aid was mainly driven by the newly introduced stand-by loan. Through this instrument, European institutions allocated almost 11 billion euros within two months.
Beyond this loan, European donors account for the majority of new aid allocated to Ukraine. However, the research notes that overall financial and humanitarian assistance still remains significantly below the levels recorded over the past year.
Despite continental initiatives, Europe continues to rely heavily on Washington's military capabilities to supply the Ukrainian army:
3 billion euros were spent by European donors between January and June 2026 on purchasing armaments directly from American defense companies.
This figure corresponds to around 30% of all military assistance that Europe has provided through defense industry procurement.
The lead analyst of Ukraine Support Tracker, Federico Mellace, explained that Europe is currently unable to disengage from the American military system due to technological and production limitations:
"Europe continues to depend on access to US weapons systems to maintain its military support for Ukraine. The US remains the main supplier of systems such as the 'Patriot', for which Europe currently has very limited alternatives."
