The promised $16 billion in U.S. aid never reached Ukraine — Zelenskyy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a comment to TSN that Ukraine has not received $16 billion in aid from the United States. This support was provided for under previous agreements and decisions.

Official reports by the Pentagon inspector general also contain data on the delays. They show what share of funding under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) was delivered in the form of weapons and equipment:

• The report for May states that, as of March, weapons and equipment worth $19.21 billion had been delivered out of the $33.51 billion allocated. That is 57% of the total.
• The August report showed that the delivery rate had barely changed, at 57.3%. The amount of delayed aid stood at $14.3 billion.

Another $1 billion in military aid was overdue: the required tenders could not be held by the established deadline.

Zelenskyy stressed the need to discuss the suspension of payments publicly. In his view, gratitude for the support already received does not remove the need to fight for the funds owed to Ukraine.

Ukraine is also urging the United States to begin negotiations on extending its contract for access to the Starshield satellite network. The current agreement expires in mid-2027. Kyiv wants to know in advance whether it will be able to continue using the system and under what terms.

We wrote earlier:

• Pentagon receives order from White House to restrict Starshield for Ukraine’s Armed Forces — Reuters
• Ukraine faces a €23 billion defense shortfall due to delays in Western aid
• Ukraine without weapons? Trump froze military aid while demanding “peace”
• Finally! Decision made: US ready to provide Ukraine with a $61 billion aid package
• Ukrainian troops are already feeling the weapons shortage, — The Times