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DoD said $182.8bn has been ‘appropriated’ for Ukraine that covers US military training in Europe, replenishment of US defence stocks. A German-based think tank calculated US spent $119.7bn on aid from 2022 to 2024
Several officials said Donald Trump is seeking an acknowledgement from Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the form of a public apology before closing a deal on Ukraine’s minerals. (Reuters Photo)
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s dust-up at the Oval Office, watched by many around the world, has led to a pause on the US military aid from Washington to Kyiv, a White House official has told media.
Trump held a series of meetings with top national security officials at the White House before taking such a decision. The halt on aid shipments to Ukraine will remain in place until Zelenskyy has made a commitment to seeking peace talks, CNN quoted one official as saying.
Since the onset of the war in February 2022, Ukraine has become the top recipient of US foreign aid. It is for the first time that a European country has held the spot since the Harry S Truman government directed a large amount of money for rebuilding the continent through the Marshal Plan after World War II.
How Much Money Has The US Spent On Ukraine?
The Kiel Institute, a German-based think tank tracking aid for Ukraine, calculated that the United States spent $119.7 billion on aid between January 2022 and December 2024.
The US Department of Defense has provided a figure looking at all spending on Operation Atlantic Resolve — a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It says $182.8 billion has been “appropriated” — a figure that covers US military training in Europe and replenishment of US defence stocks.
As per US Bureau of Political-Military Affairs’ fact-sheet, published on January 20, 2025, the government has provided $65.9 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and around $69.2 billion in military aid since Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014. The emergency Presidential Drawdown Authority on 55 occasions since August 2021 provided Ukraine with military assistance totalling approximately $27.688 billion from DoD stockpiles.
It should be noted that the historic sums are helping a broad set of Ukrainian people and institutions, including refugees, law enforcement, and independent radio broadcasters, though most of the aid has been military-related.
It’s important to note that of the $175 billion total, only $106 billion directly aids the government of Ukraine. Most of the remainder is funding various US activities associated with the war in Ukraine, and a small portion supports other affected countries in the region, as per the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).
The CFR report also highlighted that a large share of the money in the aid bills is spent in the US to pay American workers to produce weapons that are either shipped to Ukraine or that replenish the US weapons stocks the Pentagon has drawn on during the war. An analysis by the American Enterprise Institute found that Ukraine aid is funding defence manufacturing in more than 70 US cities.
What Weapons And Equipment Has US Sent To Ukraine
In the summer of 2023, the US agreed to allow its European allies to provide Ukraine with US-made F-16s. The first transfer of these fighters occurred in late July—more than 60 have collectively been pledged to Ukraine by Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway.
The Joe Biden government had provided or agreed to provide Ukraine with defense capabilities, including Abrams battle tanks, anti-aircraft missiles, artillery shells, cluster munitions, coastal defense ships, and advanced surveillance and radar systems.
In early 2024, the Biden administration reportedly started supplying Ukraine with long-range precision missiles, known as ATACMS, that can strike targets nearly 322 km away. However, the US has restricted Ukraine from using these and other longer-range US weapons on Russia over concerns that that such strikes would be escalatory.
In September, Biden said he would provide Ukraine with Joint Standoff Weapons, a long-range munition sometimes referred to as a “glide bomb”.
How Much Is Europe’s Aid To Ukraine Against The US?
The Kiel Institute highlighted that the US is, by some margin, the largest single donor to Ukraine. But Europe combined has spent more money than the US.
It said between January 24, 2022 and the end of 2024, Europe as a whole spent $138.7 billion on Ukraine. In the same period, the US spent $119.7bn, according to their figures.
The European figures include military, financial and humanitarian aid directly from the European Union.
NATO secretary general Mark Rutte said in February 2025, as quoted by the BBC, “In 2024, NATO Allies provided over 50 billion euros in security assistance to Ukraine – nearly 60% of this coming from Europe and Canada.”
As per CFR, many European governments, especially the Scandinavian and East European countries, are making larger financial contributions to Ukraine relative to the size of their economies. Some of the major arms suppliers from Europe to Ukraine include Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Poland.
Why Did The US Provide Aid To Ukraine?
Most Western analysts say the military aid provided by the US and other allies played a pivotal role in Ukraine’s defence and counter-offensive against Russia.
But some have also blamed the US and other donor countries for delays in critical arms supply to Ukraine, which has hampered its ability to fight against Russia.
What Will Happen Once US Stops Aid To Ukraine?
Once the last of the US-funded purchases of arms end, the main source of military assistance for Kyiv will be the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a collection of roughly 50 nations founded in April 2022 by former Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III.
On February 6, the Pentagon said it was passing leadership of the group to Britain. The Pentagon referred questions about continuing support to Ukraine to the British ministry of defence, The New York Times reported.
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNN that he estimates that Ukraine would feel the impact of the pause in aid within two or three months. But he warned that the Trump administration could cancel intelligence sharing and training of Ukrainian forces in the coming days.
Several officials said that Trump is seeking an acknowledgement from Zelenskyy – potentially in the form of a public apology – before closing a deal on Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
