Donald Trump has said the United States will seek reimbursement from European countries for military aid and munitions previously supplied to Ukraine, reviving his demand that America’s allies shoulder more of the cost of supporting Kyiv.
The US president said “hundreds of billions of dollars” had been provided to Ukraine and Nato without charge, arguing that European nations would have paid for the assistance had they been asked. He blamed the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden, for failing to secure payment.
Mr Trump also indicated that Washington was temporarily prioritising its own reserves rather than selling weapons to allied countries, as he addressed concerns over depleted US ammunition stocks during the separate conflict with Iran.
“We are taking them for ourselves, the U.S.A., rather than selling them to others,” he wrote in a social media post, adding that sales to allies would resume “soon”.
European countries already funding US weapons for Ukraine
The comments come as European governments and Canada are already paying for American military equipment supplied to Ukraine through Nato’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List initiative, known as PURL.
Launched in July 2025, the scheme allows allies to fund packages of equipment and munitions drawn from US stocks, including air-defence systems and artillery ammunition. Nato said in June that more than 6 billion dollars (£4.5 billion) of US-sourced military equipment had been committed through the programme.
Each early package was valued at roughly 500 million dollars and was designed to meet Ukraine’s most urgent battlefield requirements, with Nato co-ordinating delivery.
Mr Trump’s remarks suggest he wants Washington to recover the cost of earlier assistance, rather than relying solely on future arrangements in which European nations pay directly for weapons intended for Ukraine.
