From US More Than Half Of $45 Billion In Aid To kyiv

Washington At the forefront of international support for Ukraine, the United States has played an important role in helping Kiev resist militarily against Moscow, breaking with former Republican President Donald Trump's habit of going it alone.

Gallery: The war in Ukraine is one year old Washington was able to forge an international coalition to back Ukraine after Russia invaded the territory in February 2022, providing tens of billions of dollars in military aid, training Kiev troops and imposing sanctions on Moscow.

"Without the support of the United States, and then ( .

) the broader European and global, the Ukrainians would have collapsed," says Mark Cancian, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

“Support is absolutely vital And continuing with that support is absolutely vital”, he stresses.

Aid from dozens of countries has been coordinated through the contact group for Ukraine, which first met in late April last year and is made up of some 50 states led by Washington The meetings allow senior officials and Ukrainian military commanders to "update the ministers" on the situation on the battlefield so that the international community can identify and provide help, explained to Afp ​​the deputy undersecretary of Defense Laura Cooper, in charge from Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia.

Millionaire support The Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, has been the engine of the group, which held almost monthly meetings "to intensify efforts, coordinate attendance and focus on winning today's fight and the fights to come," Cooper said Supporters of Ukraine are also training Ukrainian soldiers, an effort coordinated separately through the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine organization, and US forces last month began a program focused on larger-scale exercises, in addition to training on specific weapons systems.

In addition, the United States and other countries have imposed tough sanctions on Russia, targeting financial institutions, technology imports and energy exports Stephen Sestanovich, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, believes that the US efforts to rally international support for Ukraine stand in stark contrast to the Trump presidency.

Many in the Trump administration “didn't like the transatlantic institutions, processes and leaders Trump's decision-making was always chaotic, but forging a common policy on Ukraine with the EU and the rest of NATO would have been extremely difficult," Sestanovich added.

Aid to Ukraine has covered almost all types of military equipment, from uniforms, small arms and ammunition to artillery rocket systems, air defenses and armored vehicles But Kiev has pushed for some items that its allies are reluctant to provide, such as the Patriot air defense systems and sophisticated heavy tanks, which they had been promised, and others such as long-range missiles and fighter jets, which it has so far failed to provide.

got Military aid to kyiv from the United States and other countries has totaled at least $45 billion since Ukraine was invaded by Russia, Cooper said.

The details More than half of that figure comes from the United States, which drew on military reserves, but also on new orders from the defense industry to avoid running out of stocks Defense officials say aid to Ukraine does not undermine the United States' defensive capabilities.

But according to Mark Cancian, it does have an impact on stocks and “it will be a bigger and bigger problem”, particularly when it comes to artillery ammunition Although bipartisan support for Ukraine remains strong, some lawmakers have called for aid to be limited while others are pushing for more.

“No more money for Ukraine,” Republican Rep Matt Gaetz tweeted, as a bipartisan group of senators called for it to be expanded to include advanced systems Washington has yet to provide.

According to Sestanovich, the current support “can be maintained for a long time What is more difficult is to discover how and at what speed”.

“Western governments know more is needed, but they have a hard time agreeing on the details,” he added .