Donald Trump has made “odious statements” about Ukraine, the newspaper Gazeta reports. According to the Financial Times, he threatened to halt the delivery of American weapons and ammunition to Kyiv “if Europe did not join the coalition” to free passage in the Strait of Hormuz, which is blocked by Iran.
“Last month,” the Ukrainian version of Radio Svoboda reports, “the United States demanded that NATO naval forces contribute to the clearance of this waterway, but they were met with the refusal of European capitals.” Trump has “expressed his disappointment with European allies more than once,” blaming them for “not doing more to contribute to the US war against Iran, while presenting the conflict in Ukraine as Europe’s problem.”
Angry at the European refusal, he is now threatening the Purl initiative (Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List), which entails European NATO partners purchasing American equipment for Ukraine.
A risk that is nothing new
However, Kyiv has reportedly been preparing for this possibility for a long time, as the risk of a halt in American aid did not start with the return of
