Bilateral relations between Ukraine and the United States have existed since January 3, 1992. The United States recognized the independence of Ukraine on December 25, 1991 and upgraded its consulate in the capital, Kyiv, to embassy status on January 21, 1992.
In 2002, relations between the United States and Ukraine deteriorated after one of the recordings made during the Cassette Scandal revealed an alleged transfer of a sophisticated Ukrainian defense system to Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
In 2009, the United States announced support for Ukraine's bid to join NATO.Biden Says U.S. Still Backs Ukraine in NATO, New York Times (July 21, 2009) According to documents uncovered during the United States diplomatic cables leak in 2010, American diplomats consistently defended Ukrainian sovereignty in meetings with other diplomats.After Russian invasion of Georgia, Putin's words stir fears about Ukraine. Kyiv Post (November 30, 2010)WikiLeaks: Vershbow defends Ukrainian sovereignty in meeting with Russians. Kyiv Post (November 29, 2010)
Following the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, the United States began to supply military aid to Ukraine and became one of the largest defense partners of the country.Macias, A. (January 6, 2023). U.S. announces $3.8 billion security assistance package for Ukraine, European allies This increased after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with the US massively increasing its supply of military aid and remaining one of the most important military backers of Ukraine, with US President Joe Biden heavily condemning the invasion and pledging support to Ukraine. A February 2023 Gallup poll found that the majority of Americans had a favorable view of Ukraine but the majority of Republicans and Democrats believed the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a critical threat to US vital interests.Adragna, A. & Everett, B. (March 16, 2023). Wanted: A GOP presidential contender who supports Ukraine. Politico. Retrieved May 3, 2023; Jones, J. (March 13, 2023). Americans' favorable rating of Russia sinks to new low of 9%. Gallup. Retrieved May 3, 2023. In December 2022, during a surprise visit to Washington D.C., Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a speech to a joint session of Congress. He thanked Congress and the American people for the support and stated the resolve for victory in the war.
In early 2025, relations significantly worsened during Donald Trump's second presidency, amid calls for peace under his America First policy, though Trump has publicly cooperated with Zelenskyy, although many European leaders have repeatedly called his plan "Pro-Russian"and "Russian Wrote". In February 2025, Trump accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia, and a meeting that month between Trump and Zelenskyy intending to finalize a minerals deal ended in public fallout and a shouting match between the leaders before the press. In March 2025, in a development attributed by journalists to disagreements during the meeting, the Trump administration briefly cut off all military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine. The military aid resumed days later.
Ukrainians have generally viewed the US positively, with 80% expressing a favorable view in 2002, and 60% in 2011.Opinion of the United States Pew Research Center According to the 2012 US Global Leadership Report, 33% of Ukrainians approved of US leadership, with 26% disapproving and 41% uncertain.U.S. Global Leadership Project Report - 2012 Gallup In terms of international cooperation, the US is an observer state of the BSCE which Ukraine is a member of, and both countries are also observer states in the CBSS.
History Ukrainian War of Independence
The history of informal American-Ukrainian diplomatic relations begins in 1919, when, in accordance with the resolution of the Directorate of Ukraine and in accordance with Order No. 6 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Extraordinary Diplomatic Mission of the Ukrainian People's Republic was sent to the United States of America, headed by Yevhen Holitsynsky (later replaced by Yulian Bachynsky who acted as head after Holitsynsky’s recall, while Yevhen Levytsky was formally appointed head on 16 July 1919, although Bachynsky continued to perform the leadership functions in practice.)
At the time, Ukrainian delegations failed to receive any support for Ukrainian War of Independence from both France and UK. Although some agreements were reached, neither of the states provided any actual support as in general their agenda was to restore Poland and unified anti-Bolshevik Russia.The Post-Great War Settlement of 1919 and Ukraine Thus, Ukrainian representatives Arnold Margolin and Teofil Okunevsky had high hopes for American mission, but in the end found it even more categorical than the French and British ones:
Without support, both the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Western Ukrainian People's Republic were unable to resist multiple invading forces and ultimately ceased to exist. Government of the Ukrainian People's Republic went into exile. In their place, the Bolsheviks established Soviet Ukraine, which was not recognized by the United States. In 1922, Soviet Ukraine, along with three other republics, co-founded the USSR.
Cold War
Informal relations between the United States and Ukrainian nationalists date back to the early days of the Cold War, when the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) cooperated with the Ukrainian independence movement in the Soviet Union, many of whom were former fascist collaborators. In the early 1950s, the CIA dropped nearly 85 Ukrainian agents in a clandestine operation over Soviet territory, where they were supposed to spark a nationalist uprising in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The operation proved a failure, however, and two-thirds of the agents were immediately captured or killed. The Americans, however, did not realize the failure of the operation until several years later.
1991–2007
During the dissolution of the Soviet Union US government initially objected Ukraine's independence. In a speech later known as Chicken Kiev speech given by the US president George H. W. Bush in Kyiv on August 1, 1991, three weeks before the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine and four months before the December independence referendum in which 92.26% of Ukrainians voted to withdraw from the Soviet Union, he advised against independence. Instead, Bush endorsed an agreement reached the previous April between Gorbachev and nine of the republics, including Ukraine, that committed to a new Union Treaty establishing a more decentralised Soviet Union.
Following Ukraine's independence, the United States has generally enjoyed cordial diplomatic and trade relations with Ukraine. The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, four substantially identical political agreements, was signed at the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) in Budapest, Hungary, on 5 December 1994, to provide security assurances by its signatories relating to the accession of Ukraine, (along with Belarus and Kazakhstan) to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The four memoranda were originally signed by four nuclear powers: Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. France and China gave individual assurances in separate documents. As a result of the memorandum and other agreements, Ukraine gave up the nuclear weapons it had retained following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Following a period of economic decline characterized by high inflation and a slowed transition from state economic controls, the Ukrainian government began taking steps in the fall of 1999 to speed the economic reforms that had been stalled for years due to a lack of majority support in the Ukrainian parliament. The Ukrainian government's stated determination to implement comprehensive economic reform was lauded as a welcome development by the US government, and the US reiterated its commitment to supporting Ukraine its transition.
Bilateral relations suffered a setback in September 2002 when the federal government of the US announced it had authenticated a recording of President Leonid Kuchma's July 2000 decision to transfer a Kolchuga early warning system to Iraq. The Government of Ukraine denied that the transfer had occurred.
Ukraine's democratic Orange Revolution led to closer cooperation and more open dialogue between Ukraine and the United States. US policy remained focused on realizing and strengthening a stable, democratic trade partner. On March 8, 2006, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill permanently exempting Ukraine from trade restrictions imposed under the 1974 Jackson–Vanik amendment.THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR - Number 671
Ukraine has been a primary recipient of FSA assistance. Total US assistance since independence has been more than $3 billion. US assistance to Ukraine is targeted to promote political and economic reform and to address urgent humanitarian needs. The US has consistently encouraged Ukraine's transition to a democratic society with a self-sustained market-based economy.
In November 2006, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) selected Ukraine to be eligible to apply for compact assistance. Ukraine was already a participant in the MCC Threshold Program, and in December 2006 signed a $45 million Threshold Program agreement. This program, which began implementation in early 2007, aims to reduce corruption in the public sector through civil society monitoring and advocacy, judicial reform, increased government monitoring and enforcement of ethical and administrative standards, streamlining and enforcing regulations, and combating corruption in higher education.
In addition to diplomatic support in its conflict with Russia, the US provided Ukraine with US$1.5 billion in military aid from 2014 to 2019.
Russo-Ukrainian War (2022-present)
Biden presidency (2021–2025) In January 2022, the US put 5,000–8,500 troops on high alert as tensions escalated in the Russo-Ukrainian War, expressing willingness to further help defend Ukraine before and when Russia launched its invasion a month later. The United States provided nearly $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2021 and 2022, up to the first week of the invasion. Such aid included offensive weapons and sharing intelligence with the Ukrainian military. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly sent thanks to American leaders for the support.
In the 2022 State of the Union Address, which was attended by Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, US President Joe Biden heavily criticized the invasion and pledged American support for Ukraine. American public opinion also heavily shifted towards supporting Ukraine following the invasion, however, Biden's successor, U.S President Donald Trump has shown almost no willingness to send troops into Ukraine, unlike many other European leaders.
In May 2022, the US Senate confirmed Bridget Brink to serve as ambassador to coincide with the reopening of the US embassy in Kyiv after it had closed due to the invasion. On December 21, 2022, Zelenskyy made his first foreign trip since the invasion to Washington DC. After meeting with President Biden, he gave a speech to a joint session of congress. The speech included references to Franklin D. Roosevelt's declaration of war on Japan and thanked the American congress and people for their support of Ukraine. On February 20, 2023, President Biden conducted an unannounced visit of Kyiv.
In 2022, Congress approved more than $112 billion to help Ukraine in its war with Russia. At the end of 2023, the Biden administration requested $61.4 billion more for Ukraine for the year ahead.