Until then, the Trump administration is apparently prepared to approve its first sale of lethal military equipment to Ukraine. This is a huge victory for U.S.-Ukraine relations that has made its way over to the Trump administration. The disposition would be for $50 million or greater. It represents much-needed defense hardware and services to enhance Ukraine’s military capabilities as they continue to face overwhelming odds in the region.
The U.S. State Department has formally certified a proposed country-to-country license for the sale. This decision underlines a consistent and firm commitment to help meet Ukraine’s ever-evolving defensive needs. This move comes on the heels of a particularly outrageous minerals exchange. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attributed the agreement to an established rapport with President Trump, after meeting the President in Washington, DC.
On July 12, Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed the minerals agreement. This agreement would establish a shared fund — paid for by the issuance of new licenses to extract critical minerals, oil, and gas. The agreement explicitly states that none of the money previously provided to Ukraine for military or humanitarian assistance be reallocated. This distinction is critical for understanding the deal’s terms.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an aide to President Zelenskyy, emphasized the need for Ukraine to be strategic in its military requests from the United States. He noted that with this new arrangement, Ukraine would now purchase U.S. weapons instead of receiving them as direct aid.
“That’s just the style of this administration, it’s very aggressive with communications. They will allow leaks of the most horrible conditions and so on, but then in reality they negotiate normally and you can achieve a result,” – Mykhailo Podolyak
Podolyak underscored the importance of selecting specific weapon types from the U.S., stating, “I think fairly quickly we will understand which types of weapons, to carefully select the unique weapons the US has.”
Zelenskyy hailed the agreement as a “truly equal” partnership which creates opportunities for substantial investment in Ukraine. He said he is hopeful that U.S.-Ukraine relations have a long future ahead. That optimism came after his momentous meeting with Pope Francis, and he is still looking for more results from that encounter.
“Now we have the first result of the Vatican meeting, which makes it really historic. We are waiting for other results of the meeting,” – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
The agreement also explicitly mandates implementation in a manner that will not hinder Ukraine’s efforts to integrate with the European Union. U.S. firms will be expected to vigorously compete for contracts in Ukraine. They will not take over all the deals to be had.
This reversal in policy comes six months after a planned signing ceremony at the White House was scrapped in February. Their wars erupted because DJT and Vance questioned Zelenskyy’s role as commander-in-chief. In April, under the Biden administration, Congress passed a $1 billion aid package to Ukraine. This funding was presented as a way to fast-track military assistance before Trump’s inauguration.
Dmitry Medvedev, a prominent Russian politician, criticized the new arrangement, suggesting that it places an undue financial burden on Ukraine. He stated, “Now they [Ukrainians] will have to pay for military supplies with the national wealth of a disappearing country.”