US State Dept approves $322 million in proposed weapons sales to Ukraine

The US State Department on Wednesday said it has approved $322 million in proposed weapons sales to Ukraine to enhance its air defence capabilities and provide armoured combat vehicles, coming as the country works to fend off escalating Russian attacks.

The potential sales, which the department said were notified to Congress, include $150 million for the supply, maintenance, repair and overhaul of US armoured vehicles, and $172 million for surface-to-air missile systems.

The approvals come weeks after US defence secretary Pete Hegseth directed a pause on other weapons shipments to Ukraine to allow the Pentagon to assess its weapons stockpiles, in a move that caught the White House by surprise. President Donald Trump then made an abrupt change in posture, pledging publicly earlier this month to continue to send weapons to Ukraine.

“We have to,” Trump said. “They have to be able to defend themselves. They're getting hit very hard now. We're going to send some more weapons — defensive weapons primarily.”

Donald Trump was never serious about ending the war in Ukraine.
Why would he be?
It’s a cash cow for US weapon manufacturers.
War has become just another business deal.

"We send it to Europe and Europe pays" pic.twitter.com/Exx3NFzgnX

— Richard (@ricwe123) July 23, 2025

Russia launches major aerial attack on Kyiv hours before high-level talks on support for Ukraine

Trump recently endorsed a plan to have European allies buy U.S. military equipment that can then be transferred to Ukraine. It was not immediately clear how the latest proposed sales related to that arrangement.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. has provided more than $67 billion in weapons and security assistance to Kyiv.

Since Trump came back into office, his administration has gone back and forth about providing more military aid to Ukraine, with political pressure to stop U.S. funding of foreign wars coming from the isolationists inside the Trump administration and on Capitol Hill.

Over the course of the war, the U.S. has routinely pressed for allies to provide air defense systems to Ukraine. But many are reluctant to give up the high-tech systems, particularly countries in Eastern Europe that also feel threatened by Russia.