Sweden to end aid to five countries for sake of Ukraine
Photo: Benjamin Dousa, Sweden’s Minister for International Development and Cooperation (Getty Images)
Sweden will gradually end development aid to five countries and redirect those funds to support Ukraine. The government will increase its support by more than one billion dollars next year, Reuters reports.
Sweden’s Minister for International Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Benjamin Dousa, clarified that aid to Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, Liberia, and Bolivia will be gradually phased out.
"Ukraine is Sweden's most important foreign policy and aid policy priority, and therefore the government is going to increase aid to Ukraine to at least 10 billion crowns ($1.06 billion) in 2026," Dousa noted.
Sweden’s assistance to Ukraine
Sweden has been actively supporting Ukraine during the war by providing military, financial, and humanitarian aid. It supplies weapons, equipment, and gear to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities.
The country also participates in training Ukrainian soldiers and supports Ukraine’s defense industry.
In addition to military aid, Sweden funds the restoration of destroyed infrastructure, demining efforts, and the provision of medical assistance.
On December 2, it became known that Ukraine would receive a winter aid package worth 100 million euros from Sweden. The funds will be directed, in particular, toward infrastructure repairs.
In September, the Scandinavian country became the first in the European Union to allocate financial assistance to Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility.
And in March, it was reported that the Swedish government had provided Ukraine with its largest aid package since 2022.
Earlier, the country allocated around 137.7 million dollars for recovery and development assistance, as well as for meeting urgent humanitarian needs.
