Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

Trump admin. prepares first military equipment sale to Ukraine

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Guardian
  • 2 May 2025 19:46
4 Min Read

The US administration is set to approve $50 million in arms exports to Ukraine following the signing of the minerals deal.

Listen
  • x
  • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and President Donald Trump, talk as they attend the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, April 26, 2025 (AP)
    President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, and President Donald Trump, talk as they attend the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, April 26, 2025 (AP)

The Trump administration is preparing to approve its first sale of military equipment to Ukraine since Donald Trump took office, signaling that the recently signed minerals deal between the two countries may lead to renewed weapons shipments, according to The Guardian.

The State Department has approved a proposed license to export defense hardware and services worth "$50 million or more" (£37.6 million) to Ukraine, as detailed in a communication sent to the US Committee on Foreign Relations. This marks the first authorization of this kind since President Trump suspended all military aid to Ukraine shortly after taking office.

Zelensky links minerals pact to Vatican meeting with Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated Thursday evening that the recently signed minerals deal, which included significantly more favorable terms for Ukraine than initially anticipated, came as a direct result of his meeting with Donald Trump during the pope's funeral last Saturday, according to his remarks.

“Now we have the first result of the Vatican meeting, which makes it really historic. We are waiting for other results of the meeting,” Zelensky said in a video address. He hailed the agreement as "truly equal" and said that it created a significant investment opportunity in Ukraine.

“There is no direct link where it’s written that ‘you will receive these particular weapons’, but it opens the possibility for parallel talks on the purchase of weapons,” Zelensky aide Mykhailo Podolyak said in an interview, adding that the United States is now open to such discussions.

Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent formally signed the agreement during a ceremony in Washington on Wednesday.

Ratification within seven days

Senior US officials briefing reporters expressed confidence that Ukraine's parliament would complete ratification of the agreement within seven days, noting that the deal establishes a bilateral fund financed through revenue from newly issued licenses for extracting critical minerals, oil, and gas deposits located in Ukrainian territory, as outlined in the agreement's terms.

The final document emerged after nearly three months of intense negotiations, during which the initial outline, brought to Kiev by Bessent, was dismissed by Zelensky, who deemed it excessively punitive and unacceptable to sign.

A subsequent signing ceremony was scheduled to take place at the White House last February, but it fell apart when Trump and JD Vance confronted Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, leading to a sudden breakdown in discussions and resulting in the Ukrainian president being escorted out.

US negotiation tactics and future weapon requests

When questioned about how Kiev had managed to secure better terms in the minerals deal, Podolyak explained that the real negotiations had unfolded in a manner starkly contrasting with some of Trump’s more aggressive public remarks.

“That’s just the style of this [US] administration; it’s very aggressive with communications. They will allow leaks of the most horrible conditions and so on, but then in reality they negotiate normally and you can achieve a result,” he explained, adding that “they just use this aggression to try to improve their starting position."

Podolyak noted that since the US would now require payment for supplied weapons, Kiev would have to be more strategic in determining which requests to make.

“I think fairly quickly we will understand which types of weapons to carefully select the unique weapons the US has. Because if we can produce our own drones, for example, then we will do that here. But there are some critical weapon types which only the US produces and nobody else,” he noted.

It was not immediately clear what weapons or services the more modest $50 million now on the table referred to. The State Department is required to notify Congress of significant sales of armaments and military services under the Arms Export Control Act.

Approval was requested for a direct commercial sale, a process that permits US defense contractors to transfer military equipment or services to a foreign entity under a State Department-issued license, with the Kiev Post being the first to break the news of this proposed transaction.

Related News

Syria welcomes US decision to lift sanctions, hosts US delegation

Trump claims Gaza war to end in weeks, despite ongoing Israeli assault

  • United States
  • United States-Ukraine minerals deal
  • Volodymyr Zelensky
  • Ukraine
  • Donald Trump

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS