The administration of US President Donald Trump did not allocate funding for Ukraine under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which has been in operation since 2016, in the proposed defense budget of the United States for the 2027 fiscal year. This was stated by the acting financial director of the US Department of Defense, Jules Gerst, during hearings in the US Senate Armed Services Committee.
This is reported by Kyiv24
“Yes, that is correct. There is no funding for USAI in this budget,” he said in response to a senator’s question regarding the lack of funds for this program.
Increase in the US Defense Budget
Despite the absence of funding for USAI, the total amount of defense spending currently under consideration is about $1.5 trillion. This is a record figure, exceeding the current spending level by 50%. A final decision on the budget is expected from Congress before the start of the new fiscal year, which traditionally begins on October 1.
Impact of Military Operations and Ukraine’s Position
According to US officials, as reported by CBS News, since February 28, the US has spent about $50 billion on the military operation “Epic Fury” against Iran. It is noted that part of this amount does not account for losses of equipment and damage to military facilities. The vast majority of these expenditures are directed towards replenishing ammunition stocks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously expressed concern that US involvement in the conflict with Iran could reduce support for Kyiv. He emphasized that the lack of Patriot missiles for protection against Russian ballistic missiles is particularly concerning, as Ukraine still does not have an effective alternative to this system.
According to data released in February 2025, the US Congress has allocated about $183 billion to support Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, of which $65.9 billion is designated for military assistance.