Ukrainians face decrease in support from Germany

While a memorial for Ukraine in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin serves as a constant reminder of the war, some Ukrainians say they are experiencing less support now compared to the start of the full-scale invasion of their country.

Iryna Shulikina, who heads a Ukrainian group in Berlin, says she has noticed a drop in donations.

“After two and a half years, somehow people increasingly want to distance themselves from the suffering and pain caused by the war, and help has definitely decreased,” said Iryna Shulikina, the chairwoman of Vitsche.

A survey released in January found a decrease in support for Ukraine joining the EU and NATO.

Another survey released in June found 42 percent believed Germany had done too much for Ukrainian refugees.

Last month, a politician with the sister party of the Christian Democrats told a newspaper that unemployed Ukrainians should return to Ukraine.

And some politicians with the Christian Democrats have complained about the amount of money Ukrainians are getting from the government - and that not enough of them are working.

Now Kyiv is also facing the risk of a decrease in financial support. 

Germany is planning on cutting in half the aid in its budget for Ukraine from €8 billion this year to €4 billion in 2025, expecting the country’s needs to be met by money from the G7 and Europe.

Roderich Kiesewetter of the Christian Democrats who sits on the parliamentary foreign affairs committee told Euronews the decrease was “scandalous.”

He said Germany must provide more resources for Ukraine and the goal must be to restore the country’s borders to what they were in 1991.

“The German government is thus losing credibility as a supporter and weakening the security agreement with Ukraine of February 2024