President Donald Trump credited the United States for Ukraine’s resilience against Russia, stating that Ukraine would have been defeated in the war without US support.
Trump made this remark in the Oval Office after signing an executive order to improve healthcare cost transparency.
The US has provided Ukraine with $300-350 billion in aid, with Trump emphasizing that the US wants to recover this investment.
He acknowledged Ukraine’s bravery but emphasized that US financial and military support has been crucial in sustaining their resistance.
“Ukraine, I will say, they are very brave,” he acknowledged.
“But without the United States and it’s money and it’s military equipment, this war would have been over in a very short period of time.”
Trump is expecting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to visit Washington DC to sign a minerals deal, which would enable Ukraine to “fight on.”
This development comes as Ukraine marks three years since Russia’s invasion, which has become Europe’s largest conflict since World War II.