WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has told members of Congress that it does not plan to finish spending $400 million in congressionally approved aid for Ukraine until fiscal year 2029, the same year President Trump’s second term comes to an end — even as Ukraine faces a critical shortage of weapons needed to defend against ongoing Russian missile strikes.
A source familiar with the situation said the Department of Defense sent a letter to lawmakers in May laying out its spending timeline. Despite that letter being sent two months ago, the funds have still not been disbursed or even committed through contracts. The letter had not been previously reported.
According to the spending plan outlined in the letter, funds would be formally committed during fiscal year 2026, which ends September 30 of that year. Full delivery of all assistance is estimated to be completed by September 30, 2029. Trump’s second term is set to end on January 20, 2029.
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy is expected to meet with President Trump at the White House on Tuesday, where he will continue pushing for urgently needed air defense systems and the finalization of a drone agreement with the United States, according to a source familiar with the plans. Following that meeting, Zelenskiy is expected to travel to Capitol Hill for a meeting with all 100 U.S. senators. The House of Representatives is currently on its summer recess.
Two sources said members of Congress are dissatisfied with the Pentagon’s timeline, viewing it as unusually slow given that an active conflict is underway.
Congressional frustration over the stalled funds has been building. In April, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell published an editorial criticizing the delays in military aid to Ukraine. The issue has also come up repeatedly during congressional hearings.
At a hearing last week involving Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin — a senior member of the Appropriations Committee — pressed officials on the spending plan. Durbin questioned how effective the aid could be given the lengthy timeline.
“If you’re talking about air defenses and the momentum alongside Zelenskyy, what impact will it have if we can’t fund this for three years?” Durbin asked.
The $400 million covered in the Pentagon’s plan is designated for capacity building — including equipment, training, and services — to help Ukrainian forces defend against the Russian invasion. The breakdown includes $200 million for weapons, ammunition, and explosives; $99.9 million for vehicles, spare parts, and equipment; and $100 million for services such as transporting defense materials to Ukraine.
Trump has recently struck a more supportive tone toward Ukraine, approving a proposal to license Ukraine to manufacture Patriot interceptor missiles and signaling he would sign a Russia sanctions bill introduced by the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally. Zelenskiy is scheduled to attend Graham’s funeral on Tuesday.
Graham’s unexpected death this month has raised questions about whether Trump’s recent shift toward supporting Kyiv will continue without Graham’s influence, particularly regarding legislation to sanction Russia and provide military assistance to Ukraine.
U.S. law requires the president to spend funds that Congress has appropriated and prohibits unilaterally blocking them for other policy purposes. Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 followed a Government Accountability Office ruling that his administration had broken the law by withholding defense funds intended for Ukraine.
Ukraine has been the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. However, the U.S. commitment to Kyiv has faced uncertainty since Trump returned to office and Republicans took control of both chambers of Congress in January 2025. No major aid bill has passed Congress since then, and Democrats in particular have accused Trump and Republicans of deliberately slowing down aid that was approved before he took office.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, by the end of September 2024, the United States had allocated $175 billion related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Of that total, $106 billion went directly to Ukraine, while $69 billion remained within the U.S. economy to support American industries.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
