The U.S. should stop providing aid to Ukraine "unless Europe starts equalizing," presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said in an interview with Time published on April 30.
Trump has said he would not commit to providing Ukraine with defense assistance if he won the 2024 election and his sway over the Republican party contributed to the six-month deadlock of the $61 billion in U.S. aid for Ukraine.
"If Europe is not going to pay, why should we pay? They're much more greatly affected. We have an ocean in between us. They don't," Trump told Time.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the U.S. has provided more aid to Ukraine than any other country. Washington's support to Ukraine is worth over $67 billion, $43 billion of which is military aid.
Europe has allocated over $96 billion for military, humanitarian, and financial support, according to the Ukraine Support Tracker of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Between the summer of 2023 and spring of 2024, Europe's aid allocations "consistently exceeded those of the US," the Kiel Institute notes.
The Time interview also addressed Trump's attitude toward Russian President Vladimir Putin and asked why he has not called for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who remains imprisoned in Moscow.
"I guess because I have so many other things I'm working on," Trump said, adding that if elected, "I would get him released."
Trump also declined to say whether he would aid Taiwan in case of an invasion by China, but said that Beijing has to "understand that things like that can't come easy."
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Fox News on April 25 that Ukraine hopes to continue working with Washington regardless of the outcome of the U.S. presidential election this coming November.
Carl Bildt
