“It’s not that simple”: Markarova urged not to expect $15 billion in aid from the US
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Former Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova said that one should not count on the restoration of American aid and expect the $15 billion reported by the media. According to her, the position of the administration of US President Donald Trump on financial support for Ukraine remains negative, and even decisions adopted by Congress may not be implemented.
This is reported by “European Truth” .
Markarova recalled that Ukraine has not received new budget assistance and weapons funding from the United States since 2025. According to her, this is in line with the policy of Donald Trump, whose administration has warned in advance about the termination of financial support.
Theoretically, Congress could pass a bill to aid Ukraine. However, Trump has the right to veto it, and even after signing the law, its implementation would depend on the administration.
“Restoring US aid will not be as easy as some hope,” Markarova emphasized.
She also noted that some of the aid programs that the US has already pledged to fund have not yet been implemented. According to her, even ordered weapons do not always arrive in Ukraine, despite the laws adopted and the funds allocated.
Commenting on reports of a possible allocation of $15 billion by Congress, Markarova noted that information from unnamed sources does not confirm the existence of a final decision or guarantees of its implementation.
At the same time, she said, the current Congress may still make a decision in support of Ukraine before the end of the year. In particular, during the vote on the US military budget, they traditionally allocate $300 million for the USAI program, which helps Ukraine. This year, the amount may be larger. Congress may also make separate decisions on sanctions.
Markarova emphasized that regardless of the change in the majority in Congress, Ukraine needs to continue and strengthen work with the US administration, as the executive branch remains a key player in American policy issues.
Support for Ukraine in Congress
According to Markarova, Ukraine retains support among American lawmakers. Most of the co-chairs of the Ukrainian caucus in the House of Representatives were re-elected, including Democrats Marcy Kaptur and Mike Quigley and Republican Joe Wilson.
Meanwhile, Brian Fitzpatrick, another co-chair of the caucus, lost the election. Despite this, Markarova does not expect a decrease in the number of Ukrainian supporters in the House of Representatives and suggests that there may be more of them.
The former ambassador assesses the situation in the Senate positively. According to her, most senators who supported Ukraine have kept their seats or returned to the upper house of Congress. Among them is Democrat Sherrod Brown from Ohio.
Markarova also noted that the Senate has not previously had significant difficulties in gathering votes for legislative initiatives in support of Ukraine. In particular, in 2022, the law banning the import of Russian petroleum products was supported by all 100 senators.
According to her, the effect of this restriction can be observed even now: tankers with Russian diesel fuel approach the United States, but do not enter ports and turn around.
By the way, more than 100 members of the US Congress have called on the administration of President Donald Trump and SpaceX to explain the reasons for the repeated restrictions on the operation of the Starshield satellite system in Ukraine . They also demand the immediate restoration of full access to it.
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