Trump says US will seek payment for past military aid to Ukraine and NATO
U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would seek payment for military assistance previously provided to Ukraine and NATO under the Biden administration, though he gave no details on how much money the United States would seek or from whom.
In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed that the Biden administration had provided Ukraine and NATO with “hundreds of billions of dollars” worth of assistance free of charge and argued that Europe would have paid for it if asked.
“We will be asking for that money, though somewhat belatedly,” Trump wrote.
The president did not specify which past assistance he was referring to, who would be asked to reimburse the United States, or what mechanism his administration would use to seek payment.
Trump made the remarks as part of a broader post defending U.S. ammunition stocks amid the war with Iran.
He said the United States had “virtually unlimited amounts” of medium- and high-grade ammunition and was producing munitions at record levels. According to Trump, Washington is currently prioritizing stockpiling weapons for its own military but expects sales to allies to resume soon.
Trump also claimed that the Biden administration had provided Ukraine with more munitions than the United States has used in its military operation in Iran.
Earlier this year, Trump said his administration could recover all or “even more” of the money the United States had spent supporting Ukraine.
In July, Reuters estimated that the U.S. war with Iran had already cost Washington more than $37.5 billion. The Financial Times later reported that Trump had rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s request for 300 Patriot interceptor missiles, citing the need to preserve U.S. stocks amid the war with Iran.
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