Will Europe pay the US to provide military aid to Ukraine?
Video Duration 28 minutes 15 seconds 28: 15.
Video Duration 28 minutes 15 seconds 28: 15.
Article outline
- What happened
- Why it matters
- The bottom line
Key points
- Charles Kupchan – Senior fellow and director of European Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
- US President Donald Trump notes most of it was provided by the Biden administration.
- Funding Ukraine's defence against Russia has been a thorny matter in US-European relations.
- US President Donald Trump is now complaining that those weapons and ammunition were transferred free of charge.
- With no end in sight to the fighting, can the two sides reach common ground and keep supporting Kyiv?
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the United States has provided Kyiv with billions of dollars in military assistance, much of it delivered during former President Joe Biden's administration.
He notes Europe should have covered the cost and that the US will be asking for the capital back.
With no end in sight to the fighting, can the two sides reach common ground and keep supporting Kyiv? Doug Bandow – Senior fellow at the Cato Institute. Marina Miron – Researcher in defence studies at King's College London.
Charles Kupchan – Senior fellow and director of European Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Published On 4 Sep 20264 Sep 2026.
Taken together, the developments around will Europe pay the US to provide military aid to Ukraine? Point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.
