Trump Says Europe Must Repay Costs of Ukraine Aid, Signals Claims for Hundreds of Billions of Dollars

【Financial News New York = Correspondent Lee Byung-chul】  U.S. President Donald Trump said he would demand that Europe pay even for the cost of weapons previously provided to Ukraine. As concerns grow over U.S. ammunition and missile stockpiles because of the war with Iran, the United States has decided to secure weapons intended for sale to its allies first for its own use.
On the 3rd (local time), President Trump said on the social media platform Truth Social, "We gave hundreds of billions of dollars away for free to Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)," adding, "That is money Europe would have paid if we had only asked Europe to pay." He continued, "Although it is somewhat late, we will now ask for that money."
President Trump took issue with the military assistance provided to Ukraine by the former Biden administration. This means he intends to demand that Europe share the costs not only of weapons to be provided in the future but also of aid already delivered.
Last year, the United States and NATO established the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), creating a system under which European countries bear the costs and supply Ukraine with U.S.-made weapons. President Trump’s remarks were interpreted as meaning that he intends to extend this cost-sharing principle to aid provided in the past.
President Trump also confirmed that the United States is temporarily prioritizing its own stockpiles for weapons and ammunition produced domestically.
"We are securing them for the United States instead of selling them to other countries," he said, while adding, "Sales to our allies will resume soon."
The backdrop to the United States’ move to secure weapons is its rapidly declining ammunition stockpiles due to the war with Iran. Reuters reported last month that the U.S. Army had used a substantial portion of its stockpile of precision-guided, long-range missiles in the war with Iran. This has raised concerns that U.S. response capabilities could weaken if the war with Iran becomes protracted or another military conflict breaks out in another region.
President Trump rejected reports that U.S. ammunition stocks had been seriously depleted. He explained that the United States is expanding weapons and ammunition production while also increasing its stockpiles. However, by directly acknowledging that replenishing U.S. stockpiles takes priority over sales to allies, he effectively recognized the pressure on U.S. defense production capacity.




[email protected] Correspondent Lee Byung-chul Reporter