Military assistance to Ukraine: What has changed since January 2025?

Since January 2025 military assistance to Ukraine has been evolving as the dynamics of the conflict have shifted. The US, under the Trump administration, has adopted a different approach to the conflict and Europe has taken steps to assume greater responsibility for its security, including support for Ukraine. In April 2025, European leaders said that “Ukraine’s security is inseparable from Euro-Atlantic security”. Ukraine’s military requirements have also begun to change.

Military assistance to Ukraine during the tenure of the Biden administration is examined in Library research briefing, Military assistance to Ukraine since the Russian invasion (February 2022 to January 2025).

Ukraine’s current priorities

As the conflict has evolved, so has Ukraine’s priorities on the battlefield. Military assistance from Ukraine’s allies is guided by its requirements and priorities, and as a result the nature of aid provided to Ukraine has been changing.

The acquisition and production, either domestically or jointly with allies, of advanced capabilities that allow Ukraine to protect its airspace and strike Russian targets deep within Russian territory have become Ukraine’s primary focus in 2026. Air defence and long-range strike options are currently, therefore, Ukraine’s main priorities.

A different approach to military aid by the US

After taking office in January 2025, President Trump adopted a significantly different approach to Ukraine from his predecessor, President Biden.

The administration said achieving a negotiated peace agreement was a priority. In keeping with that aim President Trump has not sought congressional approval for any new funding for US military assistance to Ukraine, although the US has continued to deliver the aid committed by the Biden administration and has continued sharing intelligence. The US has also stepped back from leading the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which has been coordinating military assistance to Ukraine since the onset of the conflict.

President Trump’s change of approach to Ukraine came at a time when the US’s commitment to European security was also frequently being called into question, and the US was seeking a rapprochement with Russia.

President Trump has expressed frustration over the slow progress made in peace talks.

A new plan for aid

At the beginning of July 2025, the US administration confirmed that some military aid to Ukraine was being suspended while the Department of War conducted a capability review. That aid was reported to include Patriot air defence missiles and precision guided weapons, including artillery.

That decision was reported to have surprised the White House and the US State Department, and just a few days later that assistance, at the direction of President Trump, resumed.

On 14 July 2025, the US administration also announced a new package of military assistance to Ukraine (referred to as the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism). However, this does not mean a return to full and unconditional US military support for Ukraine. President Trump has been clear that the US will not pay for any of this new assistance. It will be funded by NATO allies, and some assets, including Patriot air defence systems, will be delivered to backfill European capabilities that have been sent to Ukraine in the first instance. The NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, said that it is “totally logical” for Europe to step up and fund US assistance.

Concerns have been expressed, however, over the ability to supply Ukraine with air defence systems when assets are also being widely used in the US-Israel conflict with Iran.

Europe’s plans to step up

In contrast with the Trump administration, most European leaders and the European Union have continued to express their unwavering support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. The UK and the EU have also continued to adopt sanctions against Russia. There have been some exceptions, however, notably Hungary under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (in office until April 2026), Slovakia and more recently Bulgaria under new Prime Minister Rumen Radev.

The changing international security situation has also prompted European nations to agree increases in defence spending, to start making plans for European rearmament and to find innovative ways to continue supporting Ukraine, including through creating new financing mechanisms and increasing support for Ukraine’s defence industry.

In 2025 the UK and Germany assumed leadership of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group. The UK and France are also leading proposals for a ‘coalition of the willing’, to support any potential peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.

Bilateral military assistance continues

Supported by existing multinational initiatives such as the International Fund for Ukraine, PURL, and new measures within the G7 and EU, countries are increasingly moving away from direct bilateral donations of military equipment from national inventories to the financing of procurement to allow for direct acquisition from industry. Greater emphasis is also being given to initiatives aimed at the joint production of advanced capabilities between Ukraine’s defence industry and the UK/European defence industrial base.