Without US aid, Ukraine would lose some of its most sophisticated weapons
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. KYIV—Without U.S. military aid, Ukraine has enough weapons to keep fighting at its current pace until the summer, current and former Western officials said.
After that, Kyiv could find itself short of ammunition and unable to use some of its most sophisticated weaponry. President Trump’s broadsides against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in recent days are forcing Kyiv to confront the prospect of losing U.S. military support, which has been instrumental in helping it hold off Russian forces over three years of war.
Large weapons shipments the Biden administration sent or contracted for in its final months should be enough to enable the Ukrainians to keep fighting at their current rate at least until the middle of the year, said Celeste Wallander, a former senior Pentagon official. Some Ukrainian analysts say their country might be able to eke the weapons out even longer. “We can endure maybe half a year or a year, in order to give Europe another year to start producing whatever munitions they can," said Mykola Bielieskov, a senior analyst at Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian charity that has supplied drones to the military.
“We might suffer some losses, maybe lose some territory. But we have no choice but to fight, despite the difficulties." An end to U.S. military aid is the worst-case scenario, said a senior aide to Zelensky, adding that it would mean Ukraine having to build up its military production and get more from Europeans.
Europe is preparing to try to make up the shortfall. In 2024, the European Union, the U.K. and Norway collectively supplied Ukraine with around $25 billion in military aid—more than the U.S.
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