After Zelensky's unsuccessful visit to the United States, he came to Oslo, the capital of Norway, and never expected that this place would become a turning point on his road to help. On December 13, Zelensky held talks with five Nordic countries, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, and in addition to the specific assistance measures announced by Denmark and Norway for Ukraine, these five countries also jointly issued a statement saying that they will stand side by side with Ukraine to the end. This is undoubtedly a great encouragement for Ukraine, and the support of these five Nordic countries has undoubtedly brought confidence and motivation to Ukraine at a time when the support of the United States is becoming increasingly vague.
However, the good news for Zelensky is not just the support of the five Nordic countries. According to reports, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany will continue to fulfill its commitments to provide military assistance to Ukraine in 2024. According to Germany's draft budget for 2024, Germany will also allocate an additional 8 billion euros for military and financial assistance to Ukraine, and an additional 6 billion euros for refugee assistance. It can be said that on December 13, Ukraine has received more than $10 billion in aid commitments from European countries, which is undoubtedly an important milestone for Ukraine.
However, the benefits behind aid cannot be overlooked. First, in addition to Norway and Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland have not provided a specific amount of large-scale aid from the Nordic countries. Although Norway and Denmark have announced substantial aid measures, the motives behind them are not entirely altruistic. Taking Norway as an example, the conflict has led to the rupture of energy in Russia and Ukraine, which has made Norway's energy companies very profitable, with a profit of up to $31 billion. Therefore, Norway's assistance to Ukraine may not be purely based on humanitarian considerations, but more out of its own economic interests.
Second, although Germany has pledged to continue to assist Ukraine in 2024, this does not mean that Germany is really deeply concerned about the survival of Ukraine. In fact, this decision of Germany was made more at the request of the United States and reflects a statement by European countries in the coordinated and peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. Therefore, Germany's decision-making is not unshakable, and its support for Ukraine will not be sustainable if the situation changes.
Zelenskyy's desire to join the European Union and receive 50 billion euros in economic aid is good, but it faces many difficulties. EU member states need to unanimously agree to Ukraine's accession talks, and Hungary has made it clear that it will not support it. At the same time, it is not known whether EU member states will provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros in economic assistance. Therefore, there is still a great deal of uncertainty about the full reliability of Ukrainian assistance.
To sum up, although Ukraine has received tens of billions of dollars worth of aid pledges from European countries, the interests behind it cannot be ignored. The support of European countries is more about safeguarding their own interests and reputations. In the face of the attitude of the United States that may abandon aid at any time, the support of European countries for Ukraine is difficult to last, and there is uncertainty about Ukraine's aid expectations. Therefore, Zelensky and Ukraine** need to remain vigilant and seek their own development and reforms at home to ensure the long-term interests and security of the country.