Trump to demand "hundreds of billions" from Europe for weapons for Ukraine
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he intends to demand money from European countries for weapons and other military aid that the United States provided free of charge to Ukraine and NATO under the administration of Joe Biden. According to him, the amount is in the "hundreds of billions of dollars."
Trump wrote about this on September 3 on his social network Truth Social.
The American president said that the previous administration gave Ukraine significantly more ammunition than the United States used during the current war with Iran.
"Hundreds of billions of dollars were given free of charge to Ukraine and NATO, which Europe would have paid if it had only been asked. But we will demand this money, albeit with some delay," — said Trump.
However, the U.S. President did not specify the exact amount Washington intends to demand, which European countries should pay the money, and on what legal basis the administration plans to seek compensation for aid provided in previous years.
U.S. temporarily keeps ammunition for itself
Trump made the statement about Ukraine against the backdrop of a discussion about the state of American ammunition stockpiles after their intensive use in the war with Iran.
The president dismissed claims of a severe shortage of weapons in the U.S. According to him, the country has a "virtually unlimited" number of medium- and high-grade munitions, while simultaneously ramping up production and creating additional stockpiles.
However, Trump admitted that part of the output is currently not going to foreign buyers. According to him, the United States is temporarily keeping ammunition for its own needs instead of selling it to other countries.
"We are taking them for ourselves, the U.S., instead of selling to others, but sales to allies will start again soon," — wrote the American president.
Thus, Trump effectively confirmed a temporary restriction on part of military supplies to allies, but said it would not be permanent.
Under Trump, the scheme for aid to Ukraine has changed
After Trump returned to the White House, the United States significantly changed the mechanism of military support for Ukraine. Washington abandoned the practice of large-scale free transfers of American weapons, instead relying on purchases of weapons for Ukraine by European allies.
One of the main mechanisms became the PURL program, through which NATO countries pay for American weapons and ammunition needed by the Ukrainian army.
The White House previously reported that European allies and other partners have funded more than $5 billion worth of American weapons for Ukraine through this mechanism.
On September 2, NATO said that deliveries via PURL continue, including critically needed air defense systems and interceptor missiles for Ukraine. The Alliance called on European countries to increase funding for the program.
However, Trump's current statement goes much further than the existing scheme: the American president is now talking not only about paying for new supplies, but also about intent to get money from Europe for aid provided to Ukraine earlier under the Biden administration.
So far, the White House has not presented a separate mechanism for such reimbursement and has not said whether official negotiations with European countries on this matter have begun.
Source: Donald Trump, White House, NATO
