The State Department late Tuesday approved the sale of more than $200 million in new U.S. military equipment to Ukraine, a signal that the Trump administration is doubling down on its latest wave of military backing for Kyiv ahead of President Trump’s Friday deadline for a ceasefire.
In a statement, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency — the office that facilitates the transfer of military equipment to allies — said the administration has approved $104 million worth of equipment, repair services, and sustainment support for M777 howitzers, which are extended-range artillery weapons. The administration also approved nearly $100 million in “transportation and consolidation services and related equipment,” though there was little immediate detail on those capabilities.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe,” the DSCA said in a statement.
The sales come just before Mr. Trump’s Aug. 8 deadline. If Russia does not agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine by then, the president has said he will impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil exports, which would have a significant effect on the Russian economy but also would impact the countries that buy Russian fuel, namely China and India.
U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met with Mr. Putin in Moscow on Wednesday, the Kremlin said, though there was no immediate detail on the substance of their conversation or if any progress toward a ceasefire agreement was made.
Some analysts argue that those tariffs must be accompanied by more military support for Ukraine. The combination of those two things, they argue, could change the calculus of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Helping Ukraine inflict battlefield setbacks on Russian forces remains essential to efforts to persuade Putin to reevaluate his position on the war and negotiations,” researchers with the Institute for the Study of War wrote in an analysis Tuesday evening.
