- Future US aid deliveries to Ukraine are under threat.
- Some of Ukraine’s key weaponry has come from the US.
- Europe has vowed to step up and needs to find weaponry to replace what the US halts.
Many of the most powerful and important weapons Ukraine has received since the start of the war come from the US, or are US-made — like Javelin anti-tank missiles, F-16 fighter jets, and Patriot interceptor missiles.
However, Trump’s recent announcements have made Ukraine’s future access to these critical weapons anything but clear.
Europe can provide a lot, and many analysts say that what matters most is the quantity and total picture of Ukraine’s capabilities.
“It’s the total amount of military equipment flow that is important,” Mark Cancian, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told BI.
Even so, Europe’s arsenals are stretched, and in many cases lack weaponry that can directly replace the US-made weapons that have helped Ukraine the most.
Recent estimates suggest only 20% of total military hardware supplied to Ukrainian forces is now from the US — 55% is Ukrainian-produced and 25% is from Europe and the rest of the world, Malcolm Chalmers, RUSI’s Deputy Director-General, said. But he called that 20% “the most lethal and important.”
“Ukraine will not collapse — they already experienced an aid cutoff last year, but the effect will be cumulative,” he added.
Ukraine is also set to receive more arms this year directly from US manufacturers that were approved during the Biden administration, and it’s unclear if President Donald Trump’s administration will attempt to block them.
Here’s the key US weaponry that Ukraine is using and what Europe has to offer in its place:
