WSJ: The US stops funding new arms supplies to Ukraine

The administration of the US President Donald Trump has stopped funding new arms supplies to Ukraine and is considering freezing arms supplies from warehouses.

This is reported by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing sources among current and former American officials.

Funding for new weapons shipments was halted after the foreign aid freeze a few weeks ago. But the move to halt weapons shipments from warehouses came just days after Trump and Zelensky had a heated argument at the White House.

At the end of January 2025, the Trump administration ordered the cessation of all foreign aid, including military aid, except to Israel and Egypt.

The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a resolution in recent weeks that would have exempted Ukraine from the ban. But senior State Department official Peter Marocco has not sent the necessary letter to the Pentagon to allow the aid to be transferred to Kyiv.

The delay in sending the letter effectively halted new arms deals for Ukraine using the US Foreign Military Sales program, a system managed by the State Department that allows for arms purchases for certain countries.

Ukraine can obtain weapons from the United States in several ways, including through the Foreign Military Financing program, which provides loans and grants to countries to purchase weapons from American defense companies. And through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows the Pentagon to purchase weapons for Kyiv, but there are currently no funds for this. However, the key tool for arms supplies remains the mechanism that allows the US president to transfer weapons from the Pentagonʼs stockpile to Ukraine.

The White House will hold a meeting on March 3 to consider suspending arms sales using this mechanism, a congressional aide and another source familiar with the matter told the WSJ. The US State Department declined to comment.

Trump himself, speaking to the press on the evening of March 3, said that he had "not yet discussed a decision" to stop aid to Ukraine:

"Weʼll see what happens, a lot of things are happening right now as we speak. I could answer you, go back to my wonderful Oval Office and find that the answer is already outdated," Trump said.

Without a new package of military aid from the United States, Ukraine will likely be able to maintain the current intensity of hostilities against Russia until mid-2025, the WSJ sources say. European allies, as well as Ukraineʼs own growing defense-industrial complex, can compensate for some of the potential arms shortage.

However, the cessation of American aid will deprive Kyiv of access to advanced weapons systems that play a key role in the war against Russia. With a prolonged cessation of American support, Ukraine could lose access to advanced air defense systems, surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, navigation systems and long-range rocket artillery, the journalists note. Once the American aid supplies run out, Ukraineʼs ability to strike at long distances and protect its rear positions will deteriorate.

Ukraine currently produces or finances about 55% of the military equipment used, WSJ reports. The United States supplies about 20%, and Europe supplies 25%.

• Zelensky and Trump met at the White House on February 28. They were supposed to sign an agreement on the use of Ukrainian natural resources. However, during the negotiations, a heated argument broke out between the leaders, and the meeting was cut short.
• After this meeting, American media reported that the Trump administration may stop all military assistance to Ukraine, including intelligence sharing and training of the Ukrainian military.

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