Ukraine can fight without US aid at least until mid-2025 – Ukrainian finance minister

Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko believes that Ukraine has "enough funds and weapons to resist at least until the first half of 2025", even if Washington stops providing aid. Source: Marchenko in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais, as reported by European Pravda Details: Marchenko was asked what would happen if the US stopped providing aid to Ukraine. 

He stated that the potential cessation of aid is a serious challenge to Ukraine's defence capability, but not an inevitable collapse.

Quote: "We must have a plan to create the necessary conditions for cooperation with the new administration. It is in Ukraine's natural interest to build trust for cooperation. I think this should be a priority strategy both for Ukraine and for Europe."

More details: Marchenko pointed out that attitudes could change and Ukraine needs to "use the time wisely and be able to hold talks with the new administration" to handle this uncertainty.

"I believe we have enough funds, weapons, missiles and artillery shells to resist at least until the first half of 2025. We will ensure sufficient budget allocations for the purchase of ammunition and necessary military equipment in 2025," he stated. Marchenko noted that Ukraine is currently receiving the necessary weapons from the US.

"This means that we will be well-armed to resist this aggression at least for the first half of the year and beyond.

Ukraine must use this time very wisely to hold the necessary talks with our main allies in the US," the minister concluded.

Background:

• Jake Sullivan, US President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor, promised to provide Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of additional artillery shells, thousands of missiles and hundreds of armoured vehicles by mid-January.
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured NATO and Kyiv of Washington's readiness to fully utilise the funding for Ukraine authorised by Congress.
• On 7 December, the US Department of Defense announced a new security assistance package for Ukraine worth US£988 million.

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