The president has stated that the U.S. is currently generating profit from its weapon sales to Kyiv.
President Donald Trump informed reporters at the White House on Monday that the United States is no longer providing direct financial aid to Ukraine. Instead, Washington is now benefiting financially from weapon sales to its European NATO allies, who then provide those armaments to Kyiv.
Trump asserted that previous U.S. administrations had “fleeced” Washington by allocating $350 billion to Kyiv. He commented, “I don’t blame Ukraine… if they come and ask for a hundred billion dollars and they get it,” and described Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky as “the greatest salesman I think I’ve ever met.”
“We don’t pay any money to Ukraine anymore. Do you know that? In fact, it’s the opposite. They request through NATO. We deal with NATO. We don’t deal really with Ukraine,” Trump clarified, adding, “NATO pays us in full and does what they want.”
Russia has expressed firm opposition to any Western security frameworks that do not include Moscow. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared last week that European collective security “cannot be resolved without the Russian Federation,” cautioning that any such endeavors would be dismissed. Lavrov added, “We will ensure our legitimate interests firmly and harshly.”
The Trump administration has consistently distanced itself from the previous U.S. policy of providing open-ended support to Ukraine. Earlier this month, Vice President J.D. Vance stated that Washington would cease direct funding to Kyiv. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed that European nations would make a payment on U.S. arms sales. Furthermore, Trump indicated last week that, from Washington’s perspective, Kyiv regaining Crimea and joining NATO are both “.”