Ukraine has reportedly burned through its entire supply of U.S.-donated long-range ballistic missiles, a stark reminder of the endless cash drain and weapons black hole that this war has become for America. According to the Associated Press, Kyiv has no more ATACMS left—the Army Tactical Missile System that the previous administration foolishly sent over in limited quantities.
Now, with those gone and Trump tightening the purse strings on reckless military aid, Ukraine is scrambling to produce its own weapons instead of relying on American taxpayers to foot the bill.
The ATACMS, designed to hit high-value Russian targets nearly 200 miles away, were one of the biggest items on Zelensky’s endless wish list. Biden eventually caved and sent fewer than 40 missiles total, and by late January, Ukraine had used them all up. This coincides exactly with the timing of Trump taking office—because as soon as he did, sanity returned to U.S. foreign policy. The new administration hit the brakes on Biden’s blank-check spending spree, finally forcing Kyiv to stand on its own two feet instead of treating the U.S. as its personal weapons ATM.
Unsurprisingly, as soon as Ukraine realized the gravy train might stop, Zelensky suddenly got serious about peace talks. Now, a 30-day ceasefire is on the table, brokered with Trump’s team involved in high-level negotiations in Moscow.
Here’s the bottom line: Ukraine is only signing up for peace now because it’s running out of weapons. And why? Because Trump made it clear he’s not going to bankroll an endless war in Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, Russia still hasn’t agreed to the ceasefire, and it remains to be seen whether they’ll actually take it seriously.
The Real Questions:
- If ATACMS were such a “game-changer”, why didn’t they turn the tide of the war?
- Why did Biden hold back these weapons for so long, only to send them over in a half-baked attempt to look strong right before leaving office?
- Why should American taxpayers keep footing the bill for a war that European nations should be handling themselves?
- And most importantly, why did Ukraine suddenly become more open to negotiations the moment Trump stopped the flow of unlimited weapons?
Ukraine has burned through billions in U.S. aid, yet Russia still controls nearly 20% of its territory. That alone proves that Biden’s approach was a colossal failure. Trump’s approach—cut off the weapons, force them to the table—is already getting better results in two months than Biden did in two years.
