It is time to face facts – our government has little genuine interest in Ukraine or, Putin’s war against Ukraine and us, or even what I believe to be our vital American national security interests in Ukraine.
POLITICOPRO’s article below is worth reading.
POLITICOPRO
Pentagon says Ukraine support can’t rely on American contributions
At Ukraine’s latest support meeting, Elbridge Colby pushed Europe to shoulder more of Ukraine aid as allies unveiled new pledges.
By: Chris Lunday | 04/17/2026 02:02 PM EDT
BERLIN — The Pentagon’s top policy official is warning that future military support for Ukraine cannot depend on the United States, sharpening pressure on European allies to take the lead.
In remarks delivered at this week’s Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Berlin and published on X on Thursday evening, Elbridge Colby said Washington’s support had relied heavily on “drawing down finite U.S. stockpiles,” an approach he signaled is no longer sustainable. [In fact, Colby was trying to shut down American support from the outset. Now he is using shortages to support his long-time objective. Indeed, his great Administration ally, Vice President J.D. Vance recently expressed his pride in “our” – think American – shutting down aid to Ukraine. More below. History surely will record their efforts as a disgrace and likely voters will as well. RAM]
“Europe must accelerate its assumption of primary responsibility for the conventional defense of the continent,” Colby said. “This is not a matter of choice, but of strategic necessity.”
He added that continued assistance to Kyiv “must not rely on significant U.S. contributions,” urging allies to step up funding and production instead.
Under Donald Trump, new U.S. military aid to Ukraine has fallen to almost nothing. However, Washington is willing to sell weapons to Kyiv financed by other allies under the NATO-led Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List program, which gathered €3.7 billion last year for arms purchases. [Of course, the same administration has said such weapons, etc. are not available because of our using them in Iran. RAM]
U.S. military help to Ukraine fell by 99 percent in 2025, said the Kiel Support Trackerwhich monitors aid to Kyiv. “At the same time, Europe sharply increased its aid allocations, by 59 percent for financial and humanitarian aid and by 67 percent for military aid compared to the 2022–24 average. As a result, total aid in 2025 remained close to previous years,” it said.
This week, Vice President JD Vance said he was proud of the U.S. halting military aid to Ukraine.
“It’s one of the things I’m proudest that we’ve done in this administration is we’ve told Europe that if you want to buy weapons, you can, but the United States is not buying weapons and sending them to Ukraine anymore,” he said at a Turning Point USA event.
Despite switching to selling weapons, the U.S. and its allies in the Gulf are also under strain thanks to the war against Iran launched by Trump and Israel, with calls to focus on rebuilding stocks of air defense missiles that Kyiv also wants.
Colby pointed to the need to prioritize “the most consequential threats to Americans,” underscoring a broader rebalancing already underway.
The message came as European allies unveiled a fresh wave of support for Ukraine around the Berlin meeting, with a focus on drones, air defense and long-range strike capabilities.
Germany announced it would finance additional Patriot air defense missiles — to be produced domestically — as well as IRIS-T air defense systems and funding for long-range drones built in Ukraine.
The United Kingdom pledged 120,000 drones as part of its annual military support package, while the Netherlands earmarked hundreds of millions of euros for drone capabilities. Belgium and Spain also committed new funding, targeting air defense, artillery and fighter jet support.
The announcements highlight both momentum and limits. While European contributions are ramping up, Ukraine continues to face acute shortages in air defense systems to knock down Russian ballistic missiles, with production capacity struggling to keep pace with demand.
Colby emphasized that closing that gap will require more effort. “Europe must put the defense of the continent and, by extension, its military support for Ukraine on a truly sustainable footing,” he said, calling for a stronger defense industrial base. [Before closing, remember our Secretary of Defense/War refused for the second year in a row to attend this conference on Ukraine – even remotely. Combine this with the weekly Department of State summaries of activities not mentioning Ukraine in I think 11 out of the last 12 weeks, and it looks like our Executive Branch has little interest in Ukraine, OR IN OUR NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS IN UKRAINE. Yes, Ukraine has support in Congress, but given the Administration’s current influence over Congressional leadership and the hesitancy of that leadership to push back against the Administration, we must face reality and proceed accordingly. Congress is the Branch of our government that has the potential to force action supporting Ukraine. This will await a future blast, but work must be done. RAM]
Today, we urgently appeal to your generosity and compassion.
Your support is crucial to our mission to advance strategic advocacy for Ukraine and support the People of Ukraine.
ROBERT MCCONNELL
Co-Founder, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation
Director of External Affairs, Friends of Ukraine Network
The introduction and parenthetical comments are Mr. McConnell’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation or the Friends of Ukraine Network (FOUN).