US President Donald Trump hinted that he would ask European countries to repay Washington for military aid and ammunition previously sent to Ukraine amid the ongoing war with Russia, while his tweet appeared to imply that he would temporarily halt sales of military equipment to allied countries.
In his post on Truth Social, Trump denied information that US ammunition stocks have been seriously depleted due to the war in Iran, assuring that the country is increasing production and replenishing reserves.
“We are keeping them for ourselves, the US, rather than selling them to others, but sales to Allies will begin again soon,” he wrote.
“Hundreds of billions of dollars were given to Ukraine and NATO, for free, but Europe should have paid. We will demand this money, albeit somewhat belatedly,” he added, blaming the administration of his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.
Last year, the US and NATO created the “Prioritized Needs List for Ukraine” initiative, under which European countries pay to supply Ukraine with US weapons.