Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with President Donald Trump in the White House, facing halted military aid from the U.S. amid escalating conflicts with Russia and North Korea. Following the meeting, discussions of aid cancellation intensified, leaving Zelensky without a critical agreement for U.S. support. After President Biden’s administration previously provided arms, the Trump administration now threatens to stop indirect support, marking a potential abandonment of Ukraine. European nations have contributed significantly to Ukraine’s defense, but future aid mainly relies on a coalition of nations formed to support Ukraine. Continued international assistance is deemed essential for Ukraine’s defense.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine arrived at the White House on Friday for a meeting with President Donald Trump, fully aware that the shipment of weapons and military equipment from the United States to his nation had nearly ceased.
Upon his departure, following a publicly televised confrontation between the two leaders, the outlook seemed even more bleak.
During their meeting, it had been 50 days since the Pentagon had unveiled a new arms package for Ukraine, and the new administration had offered little in terms of further assistance.
Later that day, a Trump administration official indicated that all U.S. aid to Ukraine—including the remaining shipments of ammunition and equipment that were authorized and funded during the Biden administration—could be canceled at any moment.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the U.S. announced military hardware shipments approximately every two weeks during the Biden administration, and sometimes even more frequently, within days.
According to the Pentagon, around $3.85 billion remains from what Congress authorized for additional withdrawals from the Defense Department’s inventory. A former senior defense official from the Biden administration stated that the last arms Ukraine had ordered from U.S. defense contractors would be shipped within the next six months.
After that, it will fall upon a variety of European and other nations to sustain Ukraine’s military capabilities.
Mr. Trump has demanded “payback” for military assistance. On Friday, the expectations for the two leaders included signing an agreement that would grant the United States access to Ukraine’s mineral resources.
A preliminary version of the agreement vaguely referenced security guarantees for Ukraine. However, Mr. Zelensky left the White House without a signed deal, while his country continues to endure continuous assaults from Russian and North Korean forces along a 600-mile front line.
Ukraine has been reliant on a steady flow of arms from the United States throughout the conflict, which began the day after Russian troops breached the border, when the Biden administration declared it would send Kyiv $350 million worth of munitions from the Defense Department’s reserves.
Following Friday’s dramatic encounter in the Oval Office, the Trump administration official remarked that the president might opt to terminate even the indirect support currently provided by the U.S., which includes other forms of military financing, intelligence sharing, training for Ukrainian forces and pilots, and operating a call center that coordinates international aid at a U.S. military facility in Germany.
Such measures would represent a shocking betrayal of a beleaguered ally, signaling the end of support that had previously survived political challenges from House Republicans over a year ago.
In late October 2023, Speaker Mike Johnson started indicating he would delay further funding for Ukraine in the House following Mr. Trump’s public declarations against ongoing assistance.
By the time Mr. Johnson lifted his hold and allowed an aid package to progress on April 20, 2024, Russian forces had made significant advancements as Ukraine’s ammunition supplies diminished.
Since his election, Mr. Trump has significantly exaggerated the extent of U.S. support for Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute, a German research organization. He has also incorrectly asserted that European contributions to Ukraine were loans that Kyiv would be required to pay back.
European nations have provided $138 billion to support Ukraine’s war efforts, compared to $119 billion in military and humanitarian assistance from the U.S., based on data from the Kiel Institute.
Once the last U.S.-funded arms purchases conclude, the primary source of military support for Kyiv will shift to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an assembly of roughly 50 nations established in April 2022 by former Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III. This group met 25 times during the Biden administration to coordinate weapon deliveries and develop new military capabilities for the beleaguered nation.
During the contact group’s gathering at Ramstein Air Base in Germany in January, Mr. Zelensky remarked that it would be “insane to falter now” in providing support after Ukraine had withstood Russian advances for such an extended period.
When asked whether he believed the new Trump administration would maintain its commitment to the coalition, Mr. Austin refrained from speculating, stating that would be a decision “for the next administration to determine.”
On February 6, the Pentagon announced it was transferring leadership of the group to Britain.
The Pentagon directed inquiries regarding ongoing support for Ukraine to the British Ministry of Defense.
“A just and lasting peace can only be achieved if we continue to demonstrate our strength and provide Ukraine with the necessary resources to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression,” a spokesperson for the ministry of defense stated in response to inquiries about Britain’s leadership of the contact group. “There will be no reduction in our support, which we will sustain for as long as it is required.”