Kyiv Post: Trump clears US$50m in arms sales to Ukraine for first time since re-election

US President Donald Trump has approved for the first time in his second term to sell weapons worth US$50 million to Ukraine.

Kyiv Post says, citing its sources in diplomatic circles, the Trump administration informed Congress on 30 April of its intention to approve the export of military goods to Ukraine via direct commercial sales (DCS) of US$50 million or more. The notice has been submitted to Congress under the Arms Export Control Act.

The deal covers the sale of military goods, including technical data, as well as certain services.

This marks the first such move in Trump’s second term.

The US had approved exports of US$1.6 billion worth of goods and services to Ukraine through this mechanism without any public announcements between 2015 and 2023.

"All DCSs are quiet; they don’t get announced publicly like Foreign Military Sales," Colby Badhwar from the Tochnyi Research Group told Kyiv Post in Washington. "The news here is basically that it [US arms sales] is continuing, despite everyone predicting that Trump would cut Ukraine off completely."

On 14 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated his readiness to purchase ten Patriot air defence systems from the US for US$15 billion, adding that European partners were prepared to assist with financing.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, commenting on such a proposal, hinted that Zelenskyy had "started a war".

On 30 April, Ukraine and the United States signed a mineral resources deal.

First Deputy Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko outlined the key provisions of the final document, which she said meets Ukraine's interests and aligns with the country’s course towards European integration. Amongst other things, it states that Ukraine will retain ownership and control over its resources, the fund will be managed on a parity basis and the agreement contains no mention of any Ukrainian debt.