Military and financial assistance from the United States and the West is the main reason why Ukraine has been able to defend itself for so long against Russian aggression.

A U.S.-led international coalition comprised of over forty countries has provided over $100 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine.

In exchange, the Ukrainian military has been able to hold, and in many instances defeat, the Russian forces for over 1,000 days, while seriously diminishing the conventional capabilities of the Russian military in the process.

Military Aid to Ukraine

In terms of military aid, the United States is by far the single most important supporter of Ukraine. With over $62 billion worth of security aid packages, the United States has provided the Ukrainian military with key weapon systems and support capabilities.

Just to name a few important transfers, the United States has provided Ukraine with M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), MGM-140 Army Tactical Ballistic Systems (ATACMS), MIM-104 Patriot air defense batteries, M1 Abrams main battle tanks, M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, M-777 155mm towed howitzers, M109 Paladin 155mm self-propelled howitzers, T-72B main battle tanks, National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), FIM-192 Stinger shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, over 4 million artillery munitions, and more than 500 million small arms bullets and grenades. These are just some of the weapon systems and capabilities provided to Ukraine.

As the manufacturing country, the United States has also authorized other countries to provide Ukraine with F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets.

In terms of transferring these weapon systems to Ukraine, the United States has been doing it in two different ways: Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) packages and Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) packages.

PDA packages draw from the Pentagon’s existing stocks to provide immediate relief and capabilities to the Ukrainian forces. Of course, the U.S. military has been providing weapon systems from its reserves in order not to jeopardize its global deterrence posture. But even these older weapon systems are effective against the Russian military.

USAI packages provide the Pentagon with money to buy brand-new capabilities for the Ukrainian military. Although these weapon systems are new, it can take years before they are delivered to the Ukrainian military.

The United States and its allies have also been looking for alternative methods of funding Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression.

Alternatives Methods of Funding

On Tuesday, the United States sent Kyiv the first tranche of loans generated solely from profits from seized frozen Russian assets. According to Kyiv, the first loan was worth $1 billion and it will go toward ensuring Ukraine can survive Russian aggression. Japan will also be sending $3 billion generated from seized frozen Russian assets. Earlier in December, the United States announced that it would be allocating approximately $20 billion from seized frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.

Since the war began on February 24, 2022, there has been international pressure to seize Russian assets from all over the world and give them to Ukraine to defend itself. Although it took more than 1,000 days, the United States and its partners are now moving in the right direction. For example, the Group of Seven, under the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans initiative, will provide approximately $50 billion to Ukraine in 2025 from the profits generated from seized frozen Russian assets; the funds will go toward helping the Ukrainian military, as well as providing important financial relief to the Ukrainian government.

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University and an MA from Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

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