Skip to content
Edit post

US briefly paused weapons to Kyiv in first days of Trump term, sources tell Reuters

by Abbey Fenbert February 4, 2025 12:42 AM 2 min read
An aerial view of the U.S. Pentagon, May 15, 2023. Photo for illustrative purposes. (U.S. Department of Defense/ Air Force Staff)
This audio is created with AI assistance

The United States briefly stopped shipping weapons to Ukraine as the new White House administration debated its policies toward Kyiv, Reuters reported on Feb. 3, citing four sources familiar with the matter.

U.S. President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, upending U.S. foreign policy with freezes on international development funds and promises to swiftly end the war in Ukraine.

The Trump administration was initially inclined to stop all aid to Ukraine, but arms deliveries resumed over the weekend following internal discussion, two of the sources told Reuters.

Opposing factions within the administration are debating whether the U.S. should continue providing weapons, a U.S. official said.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify these reports.

Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his term freezing foreign aid funding for 90 days. The order disrupts NGOs doing vital infrastructure and humanitarian aid projects in Ukraine, but Ukrainian officials assured the freeze did not affect weapons deliveries.

Trump told reporters on Feb. 3 that the U.S. is looking to strike a deal with Kyiv that would provide continued aid in exchange for Ukrainian rare earth elements.

"We're looking to do a deal with Ukraine, where they're going to secure what we're giving them with their rare earths and other things," he said.

The New York Times reported in December that Ukrainian authorities postponed signing an agreement with the U.S. on extracting rare earth minerals in order to let Trump take credit for the deal after his inauguration.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the U.S. to continue shipping arms to Ukraine as a security guarantee that would strengthen Kyiv's position in future peace negotiations with Russia.

The U.S. has provided Ukraine with $65.9 billion in military aid since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Trump seeks Ukrainian rare earths in exchange for aid, Kyiv keen to agree
U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking to have Ukraine supply the U.S. with rare earths as a condition for aid for the war-torn country. “We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine, where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earths and other things,

News Feed

8:42 PM

US-based CourtAvenue acquires Ukrainian AI firm BotsCrew.

CourtAvenue, an American artificial intelligence solutions company ranked among the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., has acquired a controlling stake in BotsCrew, a Ukrainian company that develops chatbots for business, BotsCrew announced in a press release on Feb. 11.
6:02 PM  (Updated: )

US Treasury Secretary to visit Ukraine, meet Zelensky.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will visit Ukraine this week to discuss a potential deal between Kyiv and Washington on critical minerals, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 11, citing undisclosed sources.
2:22 PM

Russia records worst-ever ranking in key corruption index.

Transparency International highlighted that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has further entrenched authoritarianism, with the Kremlin suppressing dissent, redirecting resources to its military agenda, and eliminating independent voices.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.