US Poised to Allow First Sale of Weapons to Ukraine Since Trump Entered White House

The US looks set to permit its first sale of military equipment to Ukraine since Donald Trump took office, in an indication that the minerals deal signed by the two countries this week may open a path to renewed weapons shipments.

- Shaun Walker Kyiv Andrew Roth Washington

The State Department has certified a proposed license to export "$50m or more" of defense hardware and services to Ukraine, according to a communication sent to the US Committee on Foreign Relations.

It would mark the first permission of its kind since the US president paused all Ukraine-related military aid shortly after taking office. The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said last night that the signing of the long-discussed minerals deal—on much better terms for Ukraine than had previously been expected—was a result of the meeting he held with Trump on the sidelines of the Pope's funeral last Saturday.

"Now we have the first result of the Vatican meeting, which makes it really historic. We are waiting for other results of the meeting," he said in his nightly video address.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to Zelenskyy, said Kyiv hoped that weapons deliveries would resume swiftly.

"There is no direct link where it's written that you will receive these particular weapons, but it opens the possibility for parallel talks on the purchase of weapons. The American side is now open to these discussions," he said.

Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's first deputy prime minister, signed the agreement in Washington on Wednesday, along with the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent.