The United States has supported Ukraine during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, was condemned by the Biden administration, which provided military, financial, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and imposed sanctions against Russia and Belarus. However, the second Trump administration since 2025 has proposed a peace deal and increasingly sought to distance itself from financially supporting Ukrainian resistance.
From January 2022 to December 2024, according to the Kiel Institute, the United States has provided around half of all military aid to Ukraine and has spent $119.7 billion on activities related to the Russian invasion, and on other activities including supporting increased US–European presence, Ukrainian refugees in the US, and global food insecurity. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, by the end of September 2024 the United States had allocated $175 billion, related to the invasion of Russia, $106 billion of which went into direct aid to Ukraine, whilst $69 billion remained in the US economy to support US industries.
There are several ways by which the US provides military and financial aid to Ukraine. Most of the military aid is old American weaponry and equipment from US reserve stockpiles; Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) allows the president to order the sending of this weaponry. American military contractors are then funded to make weapons to re-fill stockpiles. The Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds the US Department of Defense to help train and advise the Ukrainian military, as well as to procure weaponry and equipment. The State Department's Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program helps allies like Ukraine buy weaponry and equipment from American manufacturers. Lastly, the US also sent some direct financial aid to the Ukrainian government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Biden administration also imposed limits on the supply and use of some American weapons. For more than two years, it forbade Ukraine to fire American weapons, like the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), at military targets inside Russia. From June 2024, it allowed Ukraine to strike inside Russia with US-supplied weapons, but only near the border in self-defense. On March 3, 2025, following disagreements during a meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy at the Oval Office, the second Trump administration paused all military aid to Ukraine. However, on March 11, 2025, U.S. military aid to Ukraine resumed after Ukraine agreed to a potential ceasefire.
Biden administration (2022–2025)
The Biden administration got information on a potential Russian invasion as early as March 2021, at the time of large Russian military exercises. The US attempted to deter Russia from invading by proposing US – Russia summit, and meeting with Russian officials in November 2021 and January 2022. The efforts failed.
Strategy
Since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022, US President Joe Biden has articulated a cautious US strategy towards the war. The goals were to mitigate the risk of escalation into a direct US-Russia confrontation while hindering Russia's military success. The Biden administration emphasized sustained support "for as long as it takes" to assist Ukraine's defense efforts. However, these are coupled with a focus on avoiding actions that could be construed as provocative by Russia and potentially leading to a wider war.
This cautious approach prioritizes limiting US risks of getting militarily involved while leaving the primary burden of repelling the invasion on Ukraine. Political scientist Kori Schake characterizes this strategy as exhibiting a "vulnerability of US support", arguing that the self-imposed limitations on US assistance, compared to Russia's aggression not limited by any boundaries, create a significant strategic advantage for Russia.
While this US strategy has been static for 2 years of war, the situation on the battlefield was changing with time. Eventually, static US strategy encountered its limitations. As the war enters its third year (as of April 2024), the battlefield situation evolved towards a stalemate and towards increased concerns that a persistent and determined Russian offensive could ultimately achieve its objectives.
In May 2023, Russia's Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev accused the United States of involvement in Ukrainian attacks inside Russia.
The Biden administration reportedly told Ukraine to stop attacking oil refineries in Russia, believing it would raise world energy prices and bring more aggressive Russian retaliation. The US also expressed concern at a Ukrainian drone strike against a Russian nuclear early-warning radar, believing that it could dangerously unsettle the Russian government.
In May 2024, Biden gave Ukraine permission to strike targets inside Russia adjacent to the Kharkiv region of Ukraine using American-supplied weapons. On August 9, 2024, U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket system destroyed a convoy of Russian troops in the Kursk Oblast of Russia in what Russian milbloggers described as one of the bloodiest attacks of the entire war.
In September 2024, Russian president Vladimir Putin threatened retaliation for attacks on Russian territory with weapons supplied by the United States and its NATO allies. U.S. officials did not believe that Ukraine had enough ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles to alter the course of the war, according to The New York Times. On November 17, 2024, the Biden administration authorized the use of long-range ATACMS missiles for military targets inside mainland Russia.
Military assistance to Ukraine After the start of Russian invasion, US president Joe Biden has committed to aid Ukraine for "as long as it takes". However US strategy's goals, aiding Ukraine and at the same time preventing Russian escalation, were contradicting each other. This contradiction "produced a repetitive cycle of Ukraine pleading for systems Washington denied, allies (particularly the United Kingdom) moving forward without the United States, the Biden administration bowing to public criticism and international pressure and slowly relenting, providing the systems months and even years later than when they would have been most effective". US military aid, per historian Phillips O'Brien, were "systems of limited range and defensive purpose". The delay in delivering weapons and ammunition resulted in Russian construction of defenses in late 2022 and early 2023.
In 2022, Congress approved more than $112 billion to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia. At the end of 2023, the Biden administration requested $61.4 billion more for Ukraine for the year ahead. On April 20, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $95 billion aid package to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. President Biden said the U.S. military would not fight Russia in Ukraine, but would defend every inch of NATO territory. On March 16, President Biden announced an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, bringing the total U.S. security assistance committed to Ukraine to $2 billion since the start of his Administration.
On February 26, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Ukraine would be provided with an additional $350 million in military aid to strengthen their defense capabilities. The United States Agency for International Development, along with United Nations agencies, provided relief supplies to the Ukrainian people, such as surgery and medical kits, emergency food, thermal blankets and sanitation supplies. The agency provided a total of $107 million in humanitarian aid.
On March 25, 2022, President Biden visited Poland near the border with Ukraine. Biden expressed his appreciation for the courage and tenacity of the Ukrainian people, and likened the Ukrainian people's resistance to Russia to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. On April 12, the United States sent $750M in additional military aid to Ukraine, including drones, howitzers and protective equipment to defend against chemical attacks. On April 24, an American delegation consisting of American Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. After the visit US announced $713 million in military financing for Ukraine plus fifteen allied partner nations. In late April 2022, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Zelenskyy in Kyiv together with other members of the House of Representatives including Adam Schiff. On August 1, the State Department announced $550 million in security aid to Ukraine focused on supplies for HIMARS systems. On February 20, 2023, President Biden announced a half-billion dollars aid stating that the new aid "package would include more military equipment, such as artillery ammunition, more javelins and howitzers. The United States marked the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2023, with $2 billion in arms for Kyiv. The United States also plans to announce $250 million in aid to bolster Ukraine's energy infrastructure against Russian attacks.
Reppresentative Chris Stewart of Utah, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said as long as US resources were used wisely, the American people will continue to support aid. He said NATO members must also honor their pledge to spend 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense. "Most of them have not done that except for a few of the smaller countries," Stewart said. "The American people also look at this and go, 'This is in Europe's backyard. They should be at least as invested in this as we are.' And I don't know that we can assure them right now that that's the case."
In May 2023, the United States said it would provide a $300 million arms shipment for Ukraine. This also included "air defense systems and tens of millions of rounds of ammunition". On July 6, 2023, President Biden approved the provision of cluster munitions to Ukraine. On August 17, 2023, the U.S. approved the transfer of F-16s from the Netherlands and Denmark to Ukraine after the Ukrainian pilots have completed their training.
NATO Eastern border reinforcement Biden stated that 800 US soldiers will be transferred from Italy to the Baltic region, eight F-35 fighter jets will be transferred from Germany to Eastern Europe, and that 32 Apache helicopters will be transferred from Germany and Greece to Poland. The president said the U.S. military would not fight Russia in Ukraine, but would defend every inch of NATO territory. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the deployment of about 7,000 additional troops to Europe.
Condemnation of Russia
U.S. president Joe Biden issued a statement calling the Russian invasion "unprovoked and unreasonable", and accusing Russian president Vladimir Putin of waging a "premeditated war that will result in catastrophic loss of life and human suffering". On February 28, the United States announced plans to expel twelve Russian diplomats from the Permanent Mission of Russia to the United Nations. The United States Mission to the United Nations told the public,
Biden called Putin "a war criminal" in response to reporters' questions on March 16. Biden additionally condemned Russian oligarchs who had supported Putin, stating that "We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets. We are coming for your ill-begotten gains." The Biden administration also condemned Putin's decision to place Russia's nuclear deterrence forces on high alert.