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Russia
Germany
Europe
War
Ukraine
In recent weeks, political voices advocating for the reduction or cessation of military support for Ukraine have gained ground in Germany and other nations. Proponents argue that funds allocated for military assistance prolong the war and should instead be directed toward domestic uses. This note compares the (so far modest) costs of military support for Ukraine with the expected costs of not supporting Ukraine. So far, average levels of German military support for Ukraine are equivalent to about 0.1% of German GDP. In our scenarios, we estimate that ending support for Ukraine would result in costs of 1-2% of annual GDP over the next five years. Halting aid to Ukraine would thus result in economic costs for Germany over the next years that are 10 to 20 times greater than those associated with maintaining current military support levels.
