After a fiery clash between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and his US counterpart Donald Trump, White House officials have signalled that US aid to Ukraine could be cancelled immediately.
It is a Ukrainian concern that has been simmering for months but one Kyiv hoped it could allay with diplomacy.
As Mr Trump and his vice-president JD Vance berated Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday night for not saying thank you for the past three years of support, that concern suddenly became a serious possibility.
In the aftermath of the unprecedented spat in front of the cameras, a Trump administration official said they were considering cancelling all help, including the final shipments of ammunition and equipment authorised and paid for during Joe Biden’s tenure.
Below, we look at just how consequential that could be – and what weapons the US has been sending to Ukraine.
What are the figures?
Almost half of the £103bn in military support sent to Ukraine by its allies has come from the US, according to estimates by the Kiel Institute. That figure is a little over £51bn.
The second and third largest military supporters are Germany and the UK, who have sent £10bn and £8bn respectively.
If you calculate total military spending as a percentage of each country’s GDP, however, the US is much lower down the list of Ukraine’s backers. Its total support amounts to 0.296 per cent of its GDP, making it the 17th most significant military backer proportionate to GDP.
Denmark is Ukraine’s most significant military supporter measured against its GDP. It has sent around 2.038 per cent. The next four, in order, are Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Finland. These four countries all share a border with mainland Russia or its exclave Kaliningrad.
But if Ukraine lost the material heft of US support, it could prove devastating. This is why Mr Zelensky has been adamant that US security guarantees as part of a peace deal are the only means of preventing future Russian aggression. Europe’s support alone, he maintains, would not be sufficient.
In an interview last month, Mr Zelensky told NBC’s Meet the Press that they would have a “low chance” of survival without US support.
He reiterated that message on Saturday as he flew for talks with Sir Keir Starmer at Downing Street, saying: “It’s crucial for us to have President Trump’s support. He wants to end the war, but no one wants peace more than we do.”
Demonstrations of how consequential a lack of US support can be are readily available. When the Republican members of the House of Representatives, under Mr Trump’s instruction, blocked for roughly eight months a military aid package for Ukraine proposed by Mr Biden, Russia made frontline advances with a significant advantage in artillery. Some soldiers put it at 10 to one.
It led to the fall of the city of Avdiivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which the Russians have since used as a springboard to advance around 30 miles further to the outskirts of the city of Pokrovsk, a linchpin of the wider area’s defence.
Total US support, including financial and humanitarian aid, is in the range of £95bn, according to Kiel. The US Department of Defence, however, suggests the figure is as high as £145bn, which it says are funds “appropriated” for Ukraine. That covers US military training in Europe and replenishment of US defence stocks.
Compared with the rest of the world, the US share of total support for Ukraine is lower. The majority of support comes from Europe, with 49.5 per cent, while the US has supplied 42.7 per cent. This leaves 7.8 per cent from other countries.
There is no evidence to substantiate Mr Trump’s claims that the US has sent $350bn to Ukraine, nor has he attempted to prove it.
What weapons have the US sent to Ukraine?
US military support for Ukraine is vital not only because of its sheer volume but also because Washington has acted as a diplomatic umbrella for European countries to send weapons of their own.
When Ukraine’s allies debated whether it would be too provocative to send tanks to Ukraine, for example, it was the US finally agreeing to send some of their Abrams battle tanks, despite the logistical problems involved in training troops in how to use them, that opened the door for Germany to send their much more readily available Leopard tanks.
The list of total American weaponry sent to Ukraine is extensive. If you want to read the full list, click here.
The most significant pieces of equipment include:
- Three Patriot air defence batteries and munitions. These state-of-the-art, multimillion-dollar systems have been vital to protecting Ukraine’s skies against Russian missile attacks
- Several hundred long-range army tactical missile systems (ATACMS). Ukraine has used these missiles, which have a range in the hundreds of miles, to strike targets deep inside Russia. They brought into range the Russian fighter jets firing devastating glide bombs, nicknamed “building destroyers”, from afar
- More than 40 high-mobility artillery rocket systems (Himars) and ammunition. These systems have proved vital in fighting on the front line
- 31 Abrams tanks and 45 T-72B tanks
- Millions of rounds of artillery, ammunition and grenades
- Hundreds of thousands of anti-tank and anti-armour systems were pivotal at the start of the war in allowing Ukrainians to repel Russia’s multi-prolonged attack on short notice
- Hundreds of armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, plus thousands of additional vehicles
- 20 Mi-17 helicopters
- More than 100 coastal and riverine patrol boats and anti-ship missiles