U.S. President-elect Donald Trump plans to continue military support for Ukraine, the Financial Times reported on Dec. 20, citing undisclosed sources.
Three officials familiar with discussions revealed that Trump intends to keep supplying US military equipment to Ukraine after his inauguration.
Trump's foreign policy team also informed European officials that he plans to push NATO allies to raise their defense spending to 5% of their GDP. NATO member states currently follow a goal of allocating 2% of their GDP to defense spending.
British officials noted that Trump sees providing weapons after a ceasefire as aligning with his "peace through strength" philosophy.
However, he remains opposed to Ukraine joining NATO and advocates for an immediate resolution to the conflict.
This contrasts with his earlier campaign rhetoric, where he suggested cutting off aid to Ukraine and pushing for peace talks.
Trump has pledged to quickly bring an end to the war but has not provided details on how he plans to do it.
He has not invited President Volodymyr Zelensky to his January inauguration but noted that Zelensky would be “welcome” if he chose to attend.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
