Zelensky urges Trump not to abandon Ukraine to Putin as US pledges $500m in military aid

Donald Trump must keep backing Ukraine with weapons and ammunition to ensure the country is not “erased off the map”, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said during a final meeting of Kyiv’s allies before the president-elect returns to the White House.

Speaking at the 25th and final meeting of the Ukraine Contact Defence Group (UCDG) at the Ramstein air base in Germany, where more than 50 of Kyiv’s allies discussed how best to combat Mr Putin’s invasion, Mr Zelensky said it would be “crazy” for Mr Trump to alter the US’ support.

“We’ve come such a long way that it would honestly be crazy to drop the ball now and not keep building on the defense coalitions we’ve created,” Mr Zelensky said.

“No matter what’s going on in the world, everyone wants to feel sure that their country will not just be erased of the map.”

His comments followed concern among officials present at the US-organised meeting that it could be their last if Mr Trump does not seek to continue supporting Ukraine. Polish officials earlier this week suggested Thursday’s meeting could be the final iteration of the UCDG.

German defence minister Boris Pistorius urged that the gatherings, aimed at speeding up and synchronising arms deliveries to Ukraine, was best kept under US leadership.

“And if those in the United States now decide not to maintain this format any longer, then we will have to make our own decisions,” he added.

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Mr Trump has not said he will abandon Ukraine but he was elected off the back of promises to end the war in less than a day. Ukraine’s backers fear this could involve forcing Kyiv to cede the roughly 18 per cent of Ukraine currently occupied by Russia, effectively rewarding Mr Putin for his land grab.

Recently, Mr Trump has also expressed sympathy with Mr Putin’s claim that Nato has tried to expand it’s alliance to the Russian border.

Mr Zelensky led the calls for the US to stay involved in Ukraine’s fight while sitting alongside US defence secretary Lloyd Austin, the man who created the UCDG.

Mr Austin endorsed calls for Mr Trump to stay invested in Ukraine’s defence before announcing the US would send another $500 million (£406m) in security assistance.

The package will include missiles for fighter jets, sustainment equipment for F-16s, armored bridging systems and small arms and ammunition.

The weapons are funded through presidential drawdown authority, meaning they can be pulled directly from US stockpiles, and the Pentagon is pushing to get them into Ukraine before the end of the month.

But this latest package leaves about $3.85 billion in funding to provide future arms shipments to Ukraine unused, despite promises from the Joe Biden administration that all the funds would be delivered to Kyiv.

If the Biden administration makes no further announcements, that balance will be available to President-elect Donald Trump to send if he chooses.

“If Putin swallows Ukraine, his appetite will only grow,” Mr Austin told the approximately 50 member nations who have been meeting over the last three years to coordinate weapons and military support for Ukraine.

“If autocrats conclude that democracies will lose their nerve, surrender their interests, and forget their principles, we will only see more land grabs. If tyrants learn that aggression pays, we will only invite even more aggression, chaos, and war.”

The US has provided about $66 billion of the total aid since February 2022 and has been able to deliver most of that total — between 80 per cent and 90 pr cent — already to Ukraine.