Can Ukraine buy weapons from the U.S.?

She made this statement on the Espreso TV channel.

“It is very important for us to understand what has happened. Essentially, we are talking about the potential cessation of free military aid to Ukraine. This is undoubtedly painful and unfortunate, but it could push Ukraine to become more independent in terms of securing its own weaponry. At the moment, this does not mean the end of defense cooperation, nor does it mean a ban on arms exports from the U.S.  In other words, if Ukraine has the money, it can still buy weapons from the U.S.  The problem is that Ukraine has a budget deficit, and this deficit could be addressed by opening controlled exports of surplus drones that are available in Ukraine. This is one of the models proposed by the Technological Forces of Ukraine,” Mykhalko explained.

According to the Executive Director of Ukraine’s Technological Forces, the U.S. remains a partner for Ukraine, and business cooperation with the U.S. should continue.

“There is a political track, but we also have a track for cooperation between defense enterprises, both Ukrainian private companies and American ones. Accordingly, there has been no prohibition on such partnerships, so the U.S. remains our ally. It seems to me that this kind of industrial cooperation should now continue more actively than ever from the business side. We need to look for alternative ways to deepen technological and industrial entrepreneurial collaboration with American partners,” Mykhalko emphasized.

• Meanwhile, CIA Director John Ratcliffe has officially announced a temporary halt in the provision of weapons and intelligence data to Ukraine. However, Bloomberg, citing a Ukrainian official, claims that Kyiv is still receiving U.S. intelligence information.