The U.S. aid to Ukraine Trump is now cutting off
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President Trump (R) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet at the White House on Feb. 28 in Washington, DC. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images.
The U.S. pledged more than $65 billion in military assistance to Ukraine under the Biden administration, but President Trump decided Monday to pull the plug, at least temporarily.
The big picture: Following a contentious televised meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump debated his next steps in the crisis with Ukraine, and indicated a possible suspension of U.S. military aid.
- The decision to pause and review all military aid, which comes as Trump pushes for peace talks, will be detrimental to Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russia.
- While Trump has not authorized a new assistance package for Ukraine, billions of dollars of equipment committed under Biden remains in different stages along the delivery pipeline, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Zoom in: The CSIS report found that it typically takes about eight months from the announcement of an arms package to the completion of the delivery.
- That suggests much of what Biden promised in his last year in office has likely not yet been delivered — thought the Pentagon did attempt to surge deliveries in Biden's final weeks.
- It takes even longer — often several years — for weapons coming from U.S. defense contractors, rather than existing stockpiles, to be delivered.
- It would therefore take years to deliver what the U.S. has already promised.
Between the lines: With no aid announced since Trump took office, the deliveries to Ukraine from the U.S. have slowed, and remaining shipments of ammunition and equipment authorized under Biden could be canceled soon, a Trump administration official told the New York Times Friday.
- The administration does have the authority to stop the shipments, despite promises made by the previous administration, per CSIS.
- "More difficult would be stopping shipments of newly produced weapons from contracts Ukraine signed with the defense industry, though with funds provided by the United States," per the think tank, because legally those belong to Ukraine.
- However, the U.S. might be able to divert shipments to its own forces under Title I of the Defense Production Act or other emergency authorities.
By the numbers: As of January 20, the U.S. had dolled out $65.9 billion in military assistance to the country since Russia's invasion in February 2022, per the State Department.
- That includes air defense equipment, guns, ammunition, missiles, laser-guided rocket systems, air surveillance radars, helicopters, bomb launchers, hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, tanks, armored vehicles, boats and more.
- Including humanitarian and financial assistance, Congress has appropriated $174.2 billion for Ukraine since 2022.
Zoom out: Ukraine also relies on the U.S. for more than just weapons and cash.
- The Ukrainian military also relies heavily on the Starlink satellite internet system from Elon Musk's SpaceX, with some 42,000 Starlink terminals in operation across the country as of last year.
- Ukraine's military also depends on U.S. intelligence, including to target drone strikes.
- The fate of broader U.S.-Ukraine cooperation remains uncertain after the public split between Trump and Zelensky.
Go deeper: Trump to hold Ukraine meeting on next steps including possible aid freeze
Editor's note: This article and the headline were updated to reflect President Trump's decision to pause military aid to Ukraine.
