The United States is no longer directly funding Ukraine and will instead be profiting from arms sales to its European NATO partners, who in turn supply those weapons to Kiev, President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.
Trump claimed that Washington was being “fleeced” under previous US administrations, which he said had committed $350 billion to Kiev. “I don’t blame Ukraine… if they come and ask for a hundred billion dollars and they get it,” he remarked, calling Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky “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 explained. “NATO pays us in full and does what they want.”
Trump also emphasized that Washington would play only a supporting role in providing any security guarantees for Kiev, stressing that European nations should take the lead.
Zelensky and his Western European backers have called for “Article 5-like guarantees” that would obligate countries to respond collectively if Ukraine were attacked. Kiev has reportedly asked its European supporters to allocate $100 billion to procure US-made weapons, according to the Financial Times.
Moscow has consistently denounced Western arms shipments to Ukraine in any form, warning they only prolong the conflict without changing its outcome while making NATO a direct participant in the hostilities.
Russia has also strongly opposed any Western arrangements that exclude Moscow. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated last week that collective security in Europe “cannot be resolved without the Russian Federation,” and warned that any efforts to do so would be rejected. “We will ensure our legitimate interests firmly and harshly,” Lavrov said.
The Trump administration has repeatedly distanced itself from previous blank-check US policy on Ukraine. Earlier this month, Vice President J.D. Vance said that Washington would no longer fund Kiev directly. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed that European countries would pay a 10% markup on US arms sales. Trump additionally said last week that, as far as Washington is concerned, Kiev regaining Crimea and joining NATO are both “impossible.”
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