Military assistance to Ukraine (February 2022 to January 2025)

Note: This briefing outlines military assistance provided to Ukraine by the US and its allies during President Biden's tenure. A new paper examining the evolution of military assistance to Ukraine since January 2025, when President Trump took office, is now available.

Defence and security links between Ukraine, NATO members and other allies and partners started soon after Ukraine’s independence in 1991. They intensified when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, but primarily took the form of training and the bilateral provision of non-lethal military equipment.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, bilateral military assistance has been significantly stepped up, with many allies supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine for the first time. For some countries such as Germany, and historically neutral countries such as Sweden, this has represented a significant reversal of their previous defence policies which ruled out providing offensive weapons.

Military assistance is being provided to Ukraine by the UK and international partners in support of Ukraine’s right to self-defence under the UN Charter.

This research briefing sets out the headline military commitments to Ukraine by its main allies and partners between February 2022 and January 2025. It does not examine the deployment of forces to the eastern flank of NATO, or wider humanitarian and economic support to Ukraine.

Types and use of weaponry

As the conflict in Ukraine has evolved, so have the types of weaponry being provided. There have been fears that the provision of increasingly more sophisticated weaponry could escalate the conflict.

Air defence remains a priority, along with the supply of ammunition and long-range strike capabilities. Delays in assistance in early 2024 are considered by NATO to have hampered Ukraine’s ability to defend its lines and Russian forces have subsequently made tactical gains in eastern Ukraine.

Allies have also increasingly turned their attention towards practical implementation of the long-term security guarantees that were promised to Ukraine in July 2023. At the centre of those plans is the continued provision of modern equipment, long-term capability development, and the strengthening of Ukraine’s defence industrial base in order to achieve greater self-sufficiency in weapons production.

Permission for the use of long-range missiles against targets in Russia

Several countries, including the UK, have said that weapons donated to Ukraine could be used, in self-defence, to strike legitimate military targets inside Russia. To date, those permissions have not extended to the use of Western-supplied long-range missiles against targets deeper in Russian territory. That operational caveat has, however, been under review.

In response, in May 2024, Russia accused NATO and the US of “provoking a new level of tension” and in September 2024, President Putin said the use of long range missiles against Russian targets was a ‘red line’ that would amount to direct NATO participation in the conflict.

In mid-November 2024, and in response to the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to Russia to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration reportedly lifted those restrictions. Subsequent media coverage reported the use of US and British long-range missiles against targets in the Russian oblasts of Bryansk and Kursk.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that any use of long-range missiles to attack Russian territory would be met with an “adequate and significant” response.

US assistance

The US is the largest provider of military assistance to Ukraine.

After the 2024 US election, the Biden administration made clear its intention to surge as much military support to Ukraine as possible before the end of President Biden’s term in office in January 2025. As of 9 January 2025, the total level of military assistance provided by the US since the start of the Biden administration (PDF) stands at $66.5 billion. $65.9 billion of that funding had been provided since February 2022.

It is unclear what impact the 2024 US presidential election will have on longer-term support for Ukraine. President-elect Donald Trump has opposed further military assistance to Ukraine and has made a negotiated peace agreement a key priority for his forthcoming term in office, although the detail of any proposals is yet to be seen.

UK assistance

The UK is one of the leading donors to Ukraine, alongside the US and Germany. To date, the UK has pledged £12.8 billion in support to Ukraine since February 2022, of which £7.8 billion is for military assistance. This includes £3 billion for military assistance in 2024/25.

The UK is providing both lethal and non-lethal weaponry, including tanks, air defence systems and long-range precision strike missiles. While the UK has committed to training Ukrainian fast jet pilots, it will not provide combat fighter aircraft.

The UK is also hosting a training programme (Operation Interflex), which is supported by several allies. Over 51,000 Ukrainian personnel have been trained so far.

NATO assistance

NATO, as an alliance, has been clear in its political support for Ukraine and fully supports the provision of bilateral military assistance by individual allies. NATO has been helping to coordinate requests for assistance from the Ukrainian Government and has been supporting the delivery of humanitarian and non-lethal aid through its pre-existing Comprehensive Assistance Package.

In July 2024, NATO agreed to take on a greater role in the coordination of military assistance and training among NATO allies, and will work in conjunction with the US-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group. Allies also agreed to a “minimum baseline funding of €40 billion [for Ukraine military assistance] within the next year”.

Ukraine is not a NATO member, however, and therefore isn’t party to NATO’s mutual defence clause under Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty. As a result, NATO troops will not be deployed on the ground in Ukraine. Allies have also ruled out imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine because it would bring Russia into direct conflict with NATO forces.

EU assistance

The European Union (EU) is also providing non-lethal and lethal arms and training through its European Peace Facility (EPF). This is the first time the bloc has, in its history, approved the supply of lethal weapons to a third country.

To date, the EU has committed €11.1 billion of EPF funding for military support to Ukraine, including €5 billion for a dedicated Ukraine Assistance Fund which was agreed in March 2024. Reaching agreement on that fund has taken several months, amid disagreements on the size of the fund and how it should operate.

Using profits from sanctioned Russian assets

The G7 countries and the EU Member States have recently agreed proposals that will allow profits from sanctioned Russian assets, held in their respective jurisdictions, to be used to help finance military assistance to Ukraine.

Under the EU agreement, the first tranche of funding for weapons purchases, channelled through the European Peace Facility, was mobilised in July 2024.

Comparing assistance from different countries

This paper does not attempt to rank countries in terms of the military assistance they are providing to Ukraine or to make comparisons between individual countries and/or the US and Europe.

Comparative data on the level of assistance being provided to Ukraine is available from organisations such as the Kiehl Institute through its Ukraine Support Tracker.

However, the available data includes economic, financial and humanitarian assistance as well as military aid. It also includes future commitments, which in some cases have been made to 2030, and therefore does not just reflect assistance provided, or funds spent, to date.

On this basis, the Kiehl Institute has reported that European assistance to Ukraine is far greater than that provided by the US. However, as the Institute itself acknowledged in its 16 February 2024 update, there is a significant gap between European funding that has been committed and funding that has actually been allocated or spentm and that to fully replace US military assistance in 2024, Europe would need to double its current level of arms assistance.

Making comparisons is also complicated by the fact that many countries do not publish information consistently. It is also unclear where the distinction may lie between certain sorts of assistance, such as mine clearance or non-lethal aid.