 "Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump appear at a meeting, while they attend the funeral of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. (Photo: Reuters)")
US President Donald Trump has approved the first export of American military equipment to Ukraine since assuming the presidency following the signing of the long-anticipated minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv, according to a report.
According to The Guardian report, citing the the Kyiv Post, the Trump administration informed the US Congress that it plans to export defence-related products to Ukraine through direct commercial sales (DCS) of $50m or more.
The notification, issued on Tuesday, came just a day before the minerals agreement was formally signed, added the report.
“I think it’s significant as a first step of goodwill from Trump after we did what he wanted from us,” The Times quoted a source close to the Ukrainian government as saying.
According to the report, the deal covers the sale of military goods, including technical data, as well as certain services.
The US had approved exports of $1.6 billion worth of goods and services to Ukraine through this mechanism without any public announcements between 2015 and 2023.
“All DCSs are quiet; they don’t get announced publicly like Foreign Military Sales,” Kyiv Post quoted Colby Badhwar from the Tochnyi Research Group as saying in Washington.
“The news here is basically that it (US arms sales) is continuing, despite everyone predicting that Trump would cut Ukraine off completely,” he added.
On 14 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed interest in purchasing 10 US Patriot air defence systems worth $15 billion, noting that European partners were ready to help finance the deal.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsResponding to the proposal, President Trump remarked that Zelenskyy had “started a war.”
Later, on 30 April, Ukraine and the US signed an agreement on mineral resource cooperation.
First Deputy Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said the deal protects Ukraine’s national interests and aligns with its path toward European integration.
Key provisions ensure Ukraine retains full ownership and control of its resources, establishes joint management of the fund on a parity basis, and includes no reference to Ukrainian debt.
With inputs from agencies