Matthew Whitaker, U.S. ambassador to NATO, told Newsmax on Thursday that "European allies need to pick up the lion's share" of the cost of support for Ukraine during the ongoing war against Russia until the country can "defend itself" without international assistance.
The Trump administration this week resumed weapons shipments to Ukraine after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth paused deliveries on some munitions and weapons while the Pentagon assessed its stockpiles.
When asked about the pause on weapons shipments to Ukraine, Whitaker told "National Report" that "President [Donald] Trump has the complete ability to turn off the supply of arms to Ukraine, or to continue them, or to increase them."
He added that Trump will "continue to make sure … that the United States of America is safe, that we have everything we need to defend ourselves. And at the same time, I think he has determined that … Ukraine needs to defend itself from Russia and their attacks."
Russia in the last several weeks launched multiple drone and missile attacks against Ukraine, using hundreds of unmanned fighters and rockets to strike at Ukrainian territory.
Whitaker noted that "almost every night, a record number of drones and missiles [are] fired, not on the battlefield in Ukraine, but on cities like Kyiv and Odesa and you're seeing civilians being injured and killed in those cities."
Whitaker went on to say that Trump "is a peacemaker" who "wants this war to end" and "understands that Ukraine is going to have to defend itself."
Whitaker noted that "European allies need to pick up the lion's share" of support for Ukraine, which he said they are more willing to do following the NATO summit earlier this year.
He said NATO allies have upped "their willingness to take over the traditional defense of the European continent and at the same time, take a more of a responsibility for providing the weapons" to Ukraine.
"Ultimately, I think you're going … to end up in the right place," Whitaker said. "And again, President Trump holds all the cards and he gets to make these decisions. And I trust him. And he has earned our trust."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.