The US president says Europe should foot the bill for weapons Washington previously supplied to Kiev for free
US President Donald Trump has said he intends to present Europe with a belated bill for billions of dollars Washington spent arming Ukraine under his predecessor, Joe Biden.
In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump renewed his criticism of the scale of the Biden administration’s support for Kiev, claiming that “Hundreds of Billions of Dollars was given to Ukraine and NATO, free of charge, that Europe would have paid for – If they were only asked.”
“We will be asking for that money, though somewhat belatedly!”
Trump did not specify how much Washington would seek, which European countries would be expected to pay, or how any retroactive payments would be arranged. Earlier this week, he said Biden gave Ukraine more than $300 billion worth of weapons “free.”
This figure is disputed. A report in May by the Special Inspector General for Operation Atlantic Resolve put total US appropriations for Ukraine and the broader response to the conflict at around $195 billion since February 2022, including $67.8 billion committed in defense articles and services to Kiev.
Under Trump, Washington has shifted the cost of new US weapons supplied to Ukraine through the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) to other NATO members and partners. Launched last year, the scheme allows them to pay for US-made weapons and ammunition supplied to Kiev. NATO says more than $6 billion worth of US military equipment has been funded through the program.
Moscow has maintained that additional Western weapons will not change the outcome of the conflict, arguing that they will only prolong the fighting.
Trump’s latest remarks came as he pushed back against reports that the conflict with Iran has severely depleted ammunition stocks, saying the US is ramping up production and currently keeping newly produced munitions for its own forces rather than selling them abroad.
READ MORE:
Estonian defense minister quits after wasting €70 million on faulty shells for Ukraine
The administration has also portrayed the Ukraine conflict as imposing a broader economic cost on the US. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week that Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, coupled with the Iran war, contributed to an “energy shock” pushing up prices in the US.
Read the full article here