Western military aid ‘not enough’, Western nations should allocate 1% of their GDP

Western nations should allocate 1% of their GDP for weapons deliveries to Ukraine during the country’s conflict with Russia, controversial Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Melnik has claimed.

“We are thankful to our allies for their military help. But: it is not enough,” Melnik wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

The US has already provided more that $35.4 billion worth of arms to Kiev since the start of the fighting last February, with the EU and its member states adding another $13.3 billion. But Melnik insisted that “Ukraine needs 10 times more to finish Russian aggression this year.”

“We call upon our partners to cross all artificial ‘red lines’ and devote 1% of GDP for weapons deliveries,” the diplomat said.

NATO demands that its member states allocate 2% of their GDP to defense spending. However, the bloc’s annual report, which was published in March, revealed that only seven of its 30 members had been able to meet that target in 2022.