Trump administration approves $50m arms exports to Ukraine

The administration of US President Donald Trump has approved the first arms export to Ukraine worth at least $50 million.

This was reported by the Kyiv Post, citing its own sources in diplomatic circles.

The notification of export approval was submitted to Congress through the Arms Export Control Act. This is a law that authorises US presidents to control imports and exports of defence products and services, according to an official notification sent to Congress by the State Department's Office of Legislative Affairs.

This time, Ukraine is proposed to export defence products, including technical data, and defence services.

Congress approved more than $1 billion worth of DCS-related arms sales in the last aid package to Ukraine. The previous US administration under President Joe Biden allowed part of this amount to be used to transfer much-needed weapons, including 50-calibre fully automatic machine guns.

It is noted that through the DCS system, from 2015 to 2023, the United States «quietly» allowed the continued export of defence products and services to Ukraine worth more than $1.6 billion.

This is the first permit since Trump returned to the White House. The exports were allowed only a few weeks after the administration suspended all Ukraine-related military aid for a review. At the time, the authorities emphasised a new priority: using US influence to end the conflict through diplomacy rather than military support.

According to Colby Badwar, security analyst at the Tochnyi Research Group, all DCSs are «quiet», and they are not publicly announced as foreign military sales. According to him, the news is that the sale of American weapons continues, despite all the predictions that Trump would completely stop such supplies to Ukraine.

Earlier, the media reported that the White House and the US Congress were not discussing new support.

As a reminder, Ukraine's Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed an agreement between the two countries to establish a Recovery Investment Fund.