Weapons from the United States: why Ukraine is talking about stopping its supply
20 February 22:18
On Thursday, February 20, the Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence and MP Roman Kostenko said that the United States had stopped selling weapons to Ukraine. He said this on the air of the TV project “Topic with Moseychuk,” Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
“According to my information, the weapons (from the United States – ed.) that were for sale (to Ukraine – ed.) have stopped. Those companies that were supposed to transfer these weapons are now waiting because there is no decision. And everyone is waiting for this decision to be made so that they can supply weapons here at least for money,” Kostenko said.
According to him, military companies that were supposed to transfer weapons under contracts are allegedly forced to wait because of the lack of permission from the United States. This also applies to European companies.
MP Oleksandra Ustinova immediately reacted to the statement of the Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence. On her Facebook page, she denied the information voiced by Kostenko.
“The United States did not stop the sale of weapons to Ukraine. Dear journalists, please check your information before publishing. We are now living in very, very difficult times, so do not add fuel to the fire,” Ustinova wrote.
After that, Roman Kostenko himself went to the media to clarify the situation. According to him, he is only talking about companies that are “waiting for decisions and what will happen in the political field.”
“There is information, including from me, as the secretary of the Defense Committee, that companies that sell weapons directly to Ukraine – I’m not talking about logistical assistance – are now waiting for all these meetings (between Ukraine and the United States – ed.) to end. They are waiting for political decisions so that they do not have any problems with the supply of weapons to Ukraine,” Kostenko said.
It should also be noted that so far there have been no official comments from U.S. representatives on the termination or continuation of the supply (sale) of necessary weapons to Ukraine.
However, Russian media immediately began to actively disseminate Kostenko’s statement.
US Logistical Assistance to Ukraine: What Changed in 2025
In January 2025, the US State Department announced the suspension of almost all foreign aid for three months, affecting tens of billions of dollars in various programs around the world. Although this decision was not directly related to military assistance to Ukraine, it could have affected the overall dynamics of support.
At the same time, in 2024, sales of US military equipment to foreign countries reached a record $318.7 billion, up 29% year-on-year. This growth was driven by global conflicts and the desire of countries to replenish their weapons stockpiles, in particular to support Ukraine.
