By 30 April 2026, Poland allocated EUR 5.86 billion of direct bilateral aid to Ukraine, or about PLN 25.22 billion at the NBP exchange rate of 7 August 2026. This is the Kiel Institute data from the update of 4 June 2026; after the Polish participation in EU and EIB assistance, the amount of the allocation increases to EUR 9.23 billion. The costs of accepting refugees and private assistance of Poles must be counted separately, due to the fact that mixing these boxes obscures the account and the account for the state must be public.
Shortest response: EUR 5.86 billion of direct aid
The most comparable figure for 2026 is: EUR 5.86 billion of direct bilateral aid to Poland for Ukraine. That's how it works. Ukraine Support Tracker Kiel Institute, whose 29th edition covers the period from 24 January 2022 to 30 April 2026. With Average rate NBP PLN 4,3010 for euro of 7 August 2026 This gives about PLN 25.22 billion.
You gotta immediately tell what this number means. Kiel counts government, military, financial and humanitarian aid directed at Ukraine. It does not number private collections, it does not number the full effort of Polish families, local governments, parishes, social organizations and companies. So it is not the full price of Polish engagement. This is simply a hard, internationally comparable account core.
In the same database Poland has EUR 6.41 billion of bilateral liabilities. After counting Poland's share of EU aid and the European Investment Bank, the allocation increases to EUR 9.23 billion and liabilities to EUR 13.99 billion. This shows why various amounts of money appear in public debate. any number only direct aid, others contribute to EU mechanisms, others mix this with exile costs. The serious state should not mix these drawers.
Aid structure: the military dominates
Out of EUR 5.86 billion of direct allocations, military aid is the most important. Kiel Institute calculates it at EUR 4.45 billion. Financial assistance is €0.91 billion and humanitarian €0.50 billion.
| kind of aid | Amount according to Kiel Institute | Share in full | |—|—:|—:| | Military | 4.45 billion euro | approx. 76 percent | | Financial | 0.91 billion euro | approx. 16 percent | Humanitarian | 0.50 billion euro | approx. 9% | Together | 5.86 billion euro | 100% |
This division is logical. Poland did not aid Ukraine due to the fact that it was moved by European salons. She helped due to the fact that the Russian army detained in Ukraine is little direct force on Poland. Kiev pays for defending its own blood, but from a Polish point of view the stake is simple: the farther from our border Moscow stops, the greater the safety margin the Republic of Poland has.
Therefore, this aid must be both real and countable. Real due to the fact that Russia understands strength, logistics, ammunition and industry. Counted due to the fact that a sovereign state cannot conduct abroad policy on a moral basis without cost control. Especially erstwhile Poland needs to rebuild its own army, civilian defence and the resilience of the state, as we wrote on the occasion of warnings, that Polish civilian defence is dormant.
Several years: the most went in 2022.
The Kiel data clearly shows that the top effort has taken place in the first year of full-scale war. In 2022 Poland allocated EUR 3.08 billion. In 2023, it was EUR 1.24 billion, EUR 0.94 billion in 2024, EUR 0.31 billion in 2025 and EUR 0.29 billion in the first 4 months of 2026.
| Year | Poland's allocations for Ukraine | | – : | 2022 | 3.08 billion euro | | 2023 | 1.24 billion euro | 2024 | 0.94 billion euro | | 2025 | 0.31 billion euro | | | 2026, January-April | 0.29 billion euro | full | 5.86 billion euro |
It's not a coincidence. In 2022, days, not months were counted. Poland carried equipment, ammunition, fuel, logistics and humanitarian aid erstwhile many Western countries were just weighing their words. From a national interest perspective, it was a minute of hard reality. It was better to support a neighbour fighting Russian aggression than to pretend later that imperial force came closer to the Polish border.
But the another side of the bill is important, too. aid for Ukraine cannot be a check without date and without conditions. Poland has the right to anticipate reciprocity, serious treatment of our interests, honest discussion of past and real participation in future reconstruction. That is why a cool head is needed in relations with Kiev, not a policy of reflexes. This thread has already returned in the text that Poland cannot be played in relations with Ukraine.
How come the difference between €5.86 billion and PLN 15 billion
In February 2025, the Chancellery of the president of the Republic of Poland stated that Polish military support for Ukraine is about PLN 15 billion. The same material shows more than 350 tanks, 14 MiG-29 aircraft, 12 Mi-24 helicopters, over 100 million ammunition units, thousands of Starlink sets and training for about 25,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
This figure should not be mechanically countered by Kiel Institute. These are different methodologies and different measurement moments. The President's office spoke about the authoritative acceptance of Polish military support for February 2025. Kiel, in its June 2026 edition, converts the wider data package into euro and uses its own method of measuring equipment and physical transfers.
The conclusion for the reader is simple: erstwhile we ask for comparable state aid for Ukraine, it is best to usage the amount of EUR 5.86 billion of bilateral allocations by 30 April 2026. erstwhile we ask about the officially communicated value of Polish military support, the mention point remains about PLN 15 billion according to the Chancellery of the president of 23 February 2025. Both numbers request to be described with date and source. Otherwise, the debate becomes a propaganda fog.
Refugees are a separate account
The biggest dispute concerns the costs of refugees from Ukraine. The President's Chancellery indicated that, after summing up support for Ukraine and aid for Ukrainian refugees, Poland allocated the equivalent of 4.91% of GDP, of which 0.71% of GDP is expenditure on support for Ukraine, and 4.2% of GDP is aid to refugees. This is important, but it is not the same category as military equipment, financial assistance or humanitarian transport to Ukraine.
In the same ranking, data from the Ministry of abroad Affairs were given: the cost of maintaining temporary refugees amounted to PLN 4.9 billion in 2022 and PLN 2.5 billion in 2023. In addition, wellness benefits are publically funded. From February 2022 until the end of September 2024, 1.3 million refugees benefited from wellness care services and the full cost of treatment was PLN 4.3 billion.
There is besides a social part whose state accounting does not full cover. According to the President's Office, 77% of Poles were active in helping refugees, and in the first months of the war private aid from citizens' pockets reached about PLN 10 billion. It was a large reaction of the nation's solidarity. It must not be utilized as an argument for the indefinite deficiency of an account on the part of the State.
At the same time, the another side needs to be recorded fairly. UNHCR and Deloitte Poland reported that Ukrainian refugees generated 2.7% of Polish GDP in 2024, and the employment of working-age refugees was 69 %. This hates budget costs, but shows that the balance sheet is not a simple communicative of spending. Work, taxes and contributions are besides part of the bill.
What it means for Poland
Polish aid Ukraine was 1 of the most crucial safety policy acts after 1989. Not due to the fact that she wanted Brussels so. Not due to the fact that it looked good in the Western media. due to the fact that Russia is at war against the state lying between it and us. It's a strategical fact, not a slogan.
But aid must not mean giving up Polish subjectivity. Our national business requires 3 things. Firstly, support where it weakens Russian ability to force Poland. Secondly, a full cost account, including EU and exile costs. Thirdly, the hard rule of reciprocity in relations with Kiev: safety yes, naivety no.
In 2026, the most honest answer is thus: Poland has provided EUR 5.86 billion of direct state aid to Ukraine, and after counting the participation in EU and EIB mechanisms, the allocations increase to EUR 9.23 billion. It's a large effort. This is why he must be taken seriously, with respect for the Polish payer and with the memory that the first work of the Polish state is the safety of Poles.
Source: Kiel Institute for the planet Economy, Ukraine Support Tracker Data, Issue 29, June 2026, Office of the president of Poland, Polish aid for Ukraine, 23 February 2025., NBP, EUR exchange rate table of 7 August 2026, UNHCR and Deloitte Poland, Communication of 10 June 2025..
