The U.S. announced the end of gratuitous military aid funding to Ukraine

The United States has ended its gratuitous funding of military aid to Ukraine.

This was stated by the U.S. Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Matthew Whitaker, on the Republican-leaning TV channel Fox News.

“I think, first of all, it is important to understand: the times when the U.S. was sending taxpayer money to defend Ukraine without restrictions are over. President Trump made a very sensible decision and concluded an agreement with NATO under which Europe and Canada will pay for the weapons, and the U.S. will produce them. It is obvious that we create the best weapons systems in the world, and everyone wants them. We will prioritize supplying these weapons to Ukraine.

This also sends a very clear signal to Vladimir Putin: we gave you a chance for peace. President Trump is a peacemaker. But if you want war — we will arm Ukraine, and Europe will pay for it. I believe this is a serious step towards ending the war. In the past 18 months, Russia has captured about one percent of Ukrainian territory. That is not a success. They are losing thousands of soldiers every day. Too many civilians in Ukrainian cities are being injured. So, in my opinion, this is the next important step toward ending the conflict. But if Vladimir Putin decides to continue the war on Ukrainian soil, the United States will sell weapons to Europe so that Ukraine can defend itself,” said the U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO.

Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Moscow and its trading partners if a peace agreement on the Ukrainian conflict is not reached within 50 days. The White House chief accused the Russian side of supposedly “empty talk” about resolving the situation in Ukraine.