U.S. military aid to Ukraine was free, signed off by presidents and Congress — ex-defense attaché

He explained this in an interview with Espreso journalist Khrystyna Yatskiv, published on April 12, 2025.

"The thing is, this transfer didn’t happen under any contract where we signed anything, but through decisions made by their Congress and president. So, nowhere was it stated that this aid came with an obligation for Ukraine to repay it. In all these documents, it was framed as material technical assistance. 

Legally, Ukraine owes nothing to the United States for the weaponry it has already received. And this will be a topic of discussion for our group, including in the context of the upcoming deal on minerals, which, in terms of sums, was essentially meant for us to compensate the U.S. for their previous expenses. That won’t happen, for sure. Other options will be explored, seeking a compromise that also understands the U.S. interest in having some future profit sources from our territories. But this is something for the governments to figure out," Havrylov noted.

As the diplomat emphasized, this was not like the Lend-Lease program during World War II, which was for the Soviet Union and Great Britain from America, where all aid was provided in the form of loans that had to be repaid, and Britain paid back this money for over 50 years.

"In our case, it was arranged differently. On the U.S. side, there are signatures from Congress, there are signatures from president, and the aid we received is free," stressed the former military attaché of Ukraine in the U.S.

Trump and Ukraine's minerals

After Donald Trump returned to the White House for his second term, he halted further direct financial assistance to Ukraine, which had been used to cover defense expenditures and largely ended up in the U.S. accounts of arms manufacturers supplying the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Moreover, Trump began demanding the repayment of the provided funds through agreements granting full access to Ukraine's mineral resources and energy infrastructure, which the official Kyiv categorically rejects. Discussions on the proposed document are ongoing.

On Friday, April 11, the Ukrainian delegation arrived in the United States for negotiations regarding an agreement on rare earth minerals. Sources say the negotiations remain tense.