Negotiations instead of weapons: US effectively ends military aid to Ukraine, - The Telegraph
Washington is effectively cutting off military aid to Ukraine. During a hearing on the US defence budget in Congress this week, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the Trump team has a fundamentally different view of the war in Ukraine than the previous administration. In his view, a negotiated settlement is in the "best interests of both parties" and the US.
This is stated in the article by The Telegraph, Censor.NET informs.
It is noted that Hegseth's message to the Congress indicates a clear shift in priorities: Russia's war against Ukraine is now considered a European problem.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the United States has already provided Ukraine with nearly $74 billion in aid, including critical Patriot air defence systems, long-range artillery, tanks, armoured vehicles and millions of rounds of ammunition. Some purchases are still ongoing, but in general, Kyiv has been left without the support of its main strategic ally, the article says.
Ukraine now has three options: rely on European efforts, buy weapons from the US with European funds, or step up its own production with funds from European allies.
"Happily for Ukraine, Europe’s leaders have repeatedly promised to step up to the plate and deliver what Ukraine needs to fight on. Less happily, in practice, Europe seems better at promising than actually stepping," the newspaper writes.
In March, Kaja Kallas proposed to allocate €40 billion for weapons for Ukraine, but this initiative was rejected by a number of countries, including Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Spain and Italy. Subsequently, the EU allocated the first billion euros from frozen Russian assets to support the Ukrainian defence industry.
According to the publication, Ukraine is using the funds effectively. Domestic arms production now meets 50 per cent of Ukraine's military needs.
In particular, The Telegraph writes that "Bohdana" self-propelled artillery unit is produced in the amount of 20 units per month and is ahead of the French "Caesars". By 2025, the country plans to produce five million FPV drones, 30,000 kamikaze drones, and 3,000 cruise missiles.
Some Ukrainian equipment is actually better than foreign-supplied weapons, as it is more accurately adapted to the needs of the frontline. In particular, Ukraine's Limma electronic warfare system is superior to Russian and Western technologies in jamming Russian bombs, the article says.
However, despite their technological and tactical superiority, the Ukrainian Armed Forces face a shortage of ammunition, fuel, spare parts and a lack of men in the army.
The Telegraph adds that the worst irony is that Europe spends more than €20 billion annually on Russian energy - and thus actually funds Putin's war machine more than Ukraine's defence.
Earlier, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said that the United States would allocate less money to help Ukraine because the administration of President Donald Trump "has a different view of this conflict".
