Ukraine–United States relations
Bilateral relations From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The United States officially recognized the independence of Ukraine on December 25, 1991. The United States upgraded its consulate in the capital, Kyiv, to embassy status on January 21, 1992.[1]
| |
 Ukraine |
 United States |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Ukraine, Washington, D.C. | Embassy of the United States, Kyiv |
| Envoy | |
| Ambassador Oksana Markarova | Ambassador Bridget A. Brink |
 | This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: The recent economic and mineral deal between Ukraine and the United States, as well as the resumption of American aid and arms transfers. (May 2025) |
In 2002, relations between the United States and Ukraine deteriorated after one of the recordings made during the Cassette Scandal revealed an alleged transfer of a sophisticated Ukrainian defense system to Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
On 2009, the United States announced support for Ukraine's bid to join NATO.[2] According to documents uncovered during the United States diplomatic cables leak in 2010, American diplomats consistently defended Ukrainian sovereignty in meetings with other diplomats.[3][4][5]
Following the 2014 annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, the United States began to supply military aid to Ukraine[6] and became one of the largest defense partners of the country.[7][8] This increased after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with the US massively increasing its supply of military aid and remaining one of the most important military backers of Ukraine,[9] with US President Joe Biden heavily condemning the invasion and pledging support to Ukraine.[10] A February 2023 Gallup poll found that 68% of Americans had a favorable view of Ukraine, by one percentage point the highest in Gallup's trend since 2005. The same poll found that 62% of Republicans and 58% of Democrats believed the Russia-Ukraine war was a critical threat to US vital interests.[11] In December 2022, during a surprise visit to Washington D.C., Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a speech to a joint session of Congress. He thanked Congress and the American people for the support and stated the resolve for victory in the war.[12]
However, U.S.-Ukraine relations significantly worsened during Donald Trump’s second administration amid calls for peace under his America First policy. In February 2025, the U.S. president accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia and denounced the Ukrainian president as a "dictator without elections."[13] Later, a February 2025 meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy intending to finalize a minerals deal ended in a public fallout and shouting match between the U.S. and Ukrainian leaders before the press. The Ukrainian delegation was abruptly asked to leave the White House, and the planned working lunch and signing of the minerals deal were canceled. The incident was seen as a major deterioration in ties, with reports accurately predicting Trump would soon halt all military aid to Ukraine.[14][15] Following the meeting, the U.S. Secretary of State condemned Zelenskyy's "antagonistic" behavior and demanded an apology from the Ukrainian president.[16] On March 3, 2025, in a development attributed by journalists to disagreements during the 2025 Trump–Zelenskyy meeting, the U.S. announced a pause on all military aid to Ukraine.[17] Days later, the U.S. cut off intelligence sharing with Ukraine.[18]
Ukrainians have generally viewed the US positively, with 80% expressing a favorable view in 2002, and 60% in 2011.[19] According to the 2012 US Global Leadership Report, 33% of Ukrainians approved of US leadership, with 26% disapproving and 41% uncertain.[20] In terms of international cooperation, the US is an observer state of the BSCE which Ukraine is a member of, and both countries are also observer states in the CBSS.
History
Summarize
Perspective
Ukrainian War of Independence
The history of informal American-Ukrainian diplomatic relations begins in 1919, when, in accordance with the resolution of the Directorate of Ukraine and in accordance with Order No. 6 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Extraordinary Diplomatic Mission of the Ukrainian People's Republic was sent to the United States of America, headed by Yevhen Holitsynsky (later replaced by Yulian Bachynsky in the status of "temporary acting Chairman").
At the time, Ukrainian delegations failed to receive any support for Ukrainian War of Independence from both France and UK. Although some agreements were reached, neither of the states provided any actual support as in general their agenda was to restore Poland and unified anti-Bolshevik Russia.[21] Thus, Ukrainian representatives Arnold Margolin and Teofil Okunevsky had high hopes for American mission, but in the end found it even more categorical than the French and British ones:
This meeting, which took place on June 30, made a tremendous impression on both Okunevsky and me. Lansing showed complete ignorance of the situation and blind faith in Kolchak and Denikin. He categorically insisted that the Ukrainian government recognise Kolchak as the supreme ruler and leader of all anti-Bolshevik armies. When it came to the Wilson principles, the application of which was predetermined in relation to the peoples of the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Lansing said that he knew only about the single Russian people and that the only way to restore Russia was a federation modeled on the United States. When I tried to prove to him that the example of the United States testifies to the need for the preliminary existence of separate states as subjects for any possible agreements between them in the future, he evaded answering and began again stubbornly urging us to recognise Kolchak. [...] That's how in reality these principles were implemented. USA supported Kolchak, England – Denikin and Yudenich, France – Galler... Only Petliura was left without any support.
— Arnold Margolin, Ukraine and Policy of the Entente (Notes of Jew and Citizen)
Without support, both the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Western Ukrainian People's Republic were unable to resist multiple invading forces and ultimately ceased to exist. Government of the Ukrainian People's Republic went into exile. In their place[a], the Bolsheviks established Soviet Ukraine, which was not recognized by the United States. In 1922, Soviet Ukraine, along with three other republics, co-founded the USSR.
Cold War
| |
 Ukrainian SSR |
United States |
|---|---|
Informal relations between the United States and Ukrainian nationalists date back to the early days of the Cold War, when the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) cooperated with the Ukrainian independence movement in the Soviet Union, many of whom were former fascist collaborators. In the early 1950s, the CIA dropped nearly 85 Ukrainian agents in a clandestine operation over Soviet territory, where they were supposed to spark a nationalist uprising in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The operation proved a failure, however, and two-thirds of the agents were immediately captured or killed. The Americans, however, did not realize the failure of the operation until several years later.[22]
1991–2014
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The United States enjoys cordially friendly and strategic relations with independent Ukraine and attaches great importance to the success of Ukraine's transition to a democracy with a flourishing market economy.[citation needed] Following a period of economic decline characterized by high inflation and a continued reliance on state controls, the Ukrainian government began taking steps in the fall of 1999 to reinvigorate economic reform that had been stalled for years due to a lack of a reform majority in the Ukrainian parliament. The Ukrainian government's stated determination to implement comprehensive economic reform is a welcome development in the eyes of the US government, and the US is committed to supporting Ukraine in continuing on this path. Bilateral relations suffered a setback in September 2002 when the federal government of the US announced it had authenticated a recording of President Leonid Kuchma's July 2000 decision to transfer a Kolchuga early warning system to Iraq. The Government of Ukraine denied that the transfer had occurred. Ukraine's democratic Orange Revolution has led to closer cooperation and more open dialogue between Ukraine and the United States. US policy remains centered on realizing and strengthening a democratic, prosperous, a primary recipient of FSA assistance. Total US assistance since independence has been more than $3 billion. US assistance to Ukraine is targeted to promote political and economic reform and to address urgent humanitarian needs. The US has consistently encouraged Ukraine's transition to a democratic society with a prosperous market-based economy.
In November 2006, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) selected Ukraine to be eligible to apply for compact assistance. Ukraine already participates in the MCC Threshold Program, and in December 2006 signed a $45 million Threshold Program agreement. This program, which began implementation in early 2007, aims to reduce corruption in the public sector through civil society monitoring and advocacy, judicial reform, increased government monitoring and enforcement of ethical and administrative standards, streamlining and enforcing regulations, and combating corruption in higher education. Ukraine is beginning the process of developing a Compact proposal, and successful implementation of the Threshold Program will be necessary before the MCC will enter into a Compact with Ukraine.
Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–present)
In addition to diplomatic support in its conflict with Russia, the US provided Ukraine with US$1.5 billion in military aid from 2014 to 2019.[7]
First Trump presidency (2017–2021)
![[icon]](#/media/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (March 2025) |
Biden presidency (2021–2025)
In 2021, The Sunday Times reported, citing Global Firepower in an infographic, that the value of military equipment given to Ukraine by the US was US$2.5 billion.[23]
In January 2022, the US put 5,000–8,500 troops on high alert as tensions escalated in the Russo-Ukrainian War,[24] expressing willingness to further help defend Ukraine before and when Russia launched its invasion a month later.[25][26] The United States provided nearly $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2021 and 2022, up to the first week of the invasion.[6] Such aid included offensive weapons and sharing intelligence with the Ukrainian military.[9][27][28] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly sent thanks to American leaders for the support.[29][30]
In the 2022 State of the Union Address, which was attended by Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, US President Joe Biden heavily criticized the invasion and pledged American support for Ukraine. American public opinion also heavily shifted towards supporting Ukraine following the invasion.[31]
In May 2022, the US Senate confirmed Bridget Brink to serve as ambassador to coincide with the reopening of the US embassy in Kyiv after it had closed due to the invasion.[32] On December 21, 2022, Zelenskyy made his first foreign trip since the invasion to Washington DC. After meeting with President Biden, he gave a speech to a joint session of congress. The speech included references to Franklin D. Roosevelt's declaration of war on Japan and thanked the American congress and people for their support of Ukraine.[33] On February 20, 2023, President Biden conducted an unannounced visit of Kyiv.[34][35][36]
In 2022, Congress approved more than $112 billion to help Ukraine in its war with Russia. At the end of 2023, the Biden administration requested $61.4 billion more for Ukraine for the year ahead.[37]
In April 2024, Ukraine received small arms and ammunition from Washington, which were intercepted while en route from Iranian forces to rebels in Yemen supported by Tehran.[38] On April 20, 2024, the US House of Representatives approved a $95 billion aid package to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.[39]
The US debated granting Ukraine permission to use long-range weapons within Russia. US officials did not believe that Ukraine had enough ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles to alter the course of the war, according to The New York Times.[40] In September 2024, reporting renewed over a potential lifting of restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western long-range weapons on Russian territory.[41] Biden met with British prime minister Keir Starmer on September 13 over the issue, though no official announcement was made.[42]
On November 17, US President Joe Biden finally lifts restrictions on the Ukrainian use of U.S. weapons (including ATACMS), finally allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia, with Ukrainian forces starting to use the weapons in long-distance attacks on November 19. [43]
In December 2024, President Zelenskyy resisted pressure from the Biden administration to lower the conscription age to 18 to replace Ukraine's battlefield losses.[44] In February 2025, he said that Ukraine would introduce special military contracts for volunteers aged 18 to 24.[45]
Second Trump presidency (2025–present)
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In February 2025, Trump described Zelenskyy as a dictator and stated that Ukraine had started the war.[46]
According to Reuters, during talks in Riyadh on February 18, 2025, about ending the war in Ukraine, a "working dialogue" was established between the United States and Russia.[47] Ukraine raised concerns that they were not invited to these discussions.[47]
French President Emmanuel Macron met with Trump in the Oval Office on February 24, 2025, where they discussed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.[48] Macron's approach included a truce, then a peace settlement to ensure that Ukraine has long-term security guarantees for Ukraine.[48] In contrast, President Trump called for a ceasefire with the United States negotiating directly with Russia.[48]
In February 2025, the United States offered to take control of 50 percent of Ukraine's vital minerals in exchange for security guarantees to Ukraine against Russia. Zelenskyy has instructed his ministers not to sign a proposed agreement because the document was too focused on US interests.[49][50]
In February 2025, Ukraine and its European allies made it clear that they were concerned that President Donald Trump had unilaterally opened negotiations with Putin and apparently made concessions to Russia.[51]
On February 16, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Ukraine and Europe would be part of any "real negotiations" to end the war.[52][53] President Donald Trump said on the same day that the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy "will be involved" in peace negotiations.[54] On February 18, American and Russian delegations, headed by Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, respectively, met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in order to develop a framework for further peace negotiations on the war in Ukraine.[55] Ukraine was not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia.[56] Rubio was accompanied by US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.[55]
On February 24, the US voted against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[57] Alongside this resolution, the US introduced a separate resolution in the General Assembly which was worded in neutral terms. However, this resolution was significantly changed after several amendments, and Russia voted against it.[58] The US later re-introduced that resolution in the Security Council, which ultimately approved it.[59]
On February 27, Trump extended a series of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine for one year.[60]
A February 28, 2025, meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in the White House failed to reach an agreement on the potential minerals deal that the two countries had considered.[61] Trump told Zelenskyy that Zelenskyy was "gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have" and the Ukrainian delegation was asked to leave the White House.[61] According to several news outlets, this public spat was a catastrophic deterioration of relations between the countries, and a "beyond the worst-case scenario for Ukraine"[62] and "Everything was ready for the signing of the mineral agreement, followed by a press conference. The tables were set, pens were on the tables, but everything fell apart."[63] According to The Washington Post, on the day after the meeting, Trump was considering halting all military aid to Ukraine, citing sources from an administration official.[64] Then, three days after the meeting, the U.S. suspended all military aid to Ukraine.[65] A few days after that, the U.S. cut off its intelligence sharing with Ukraine.[18]
On March 11, U.S. and Ukrainian officials met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during which Ukraine accepted the U.S.'s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. As part of the agreement, the U.S. resumed all military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, while Rubio said that a peace agreement now relied on Russia's approval of the ceasefire, saying that "The ball is now in their court."
Controversies
Summarize
Perspective
During the Ukrainian independence movement, on August 1, 1991, then-US-President George H. W. Bush made a speech critical of the movement which James Carafano subsequently described as "what may have been the worst speech ever by an American chief executive".[66]
On February 18, 2009, the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea sent a letter to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the President of Ukraine in which it stated that it deemed it inexpedient to open a representative office of the United States in Crimea and it urged the Ukrainian leadership to give up this idea. The letter will also be sent[when?] to the Chairman of the UN General Assembly. The letter was passed in a 77 to 9 roll-call vote with one abstention.[67]
In 2012 the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations passed Resolution 466, calling for the unconditional release of political prisoner Yulia Tymoshenko and implemented a visa ban against those responsible.[68] The resolution condemned the administration of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (in office from 2010 to 2014) and asked NATO to suspend all cooperative agreements with Ukraine.[69] In response, First Deputy General Prosecutor of Ukraine Renat Kuzmin wrote a letter to US President Barack Obama, complaining that his visa was revoked.[70]
Following the success of the Euromaidan protests, United States Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland stated that the United States had "invested" $5 billion to bring about a "secure and prosperous and democratic Ukraine."[71] The Euromaidan resulted in the election of the pro-EU president Petro Poroshenko and then the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014. Poroshenko requested military aid from the United States. President Barack Obama was reluctant to arm a relatively corrupt military that was recently used against anti-democracy protestors, and saw the mistaken shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 by Russian-armed separatists as an example of the dangers of supplying arms to Ukraine.[6] Though the US had sanctioned Russia and refused to recognize the annexation, after a year Obama declined to provide the requested lethal aid (such as FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles and F-16 fighter jets).[6] The Obama administration did supply $600 million of non-lethal military aid from 2014 to 2016, including vehicles, training, body armor, and night-vision goggles.[6]
In 2017, President Donald Trump approved $47 million of Javelin anti-tank missile and missile launchers; these were not allowed to be deployed but kept in storage as a strategic deterrent against Russian invasion.[6]
In 2018 the US House of Representatives passed a provision blocking any training of Azov Battalion of the Ukrainian National Guard by American forces, citing its neo-Nazi background. In previous years, between 2014 and 2017, the US House of Representatives passed amendments banning support of Azov, but due to pressure from the Pentagon, the amendments were quietly lifted.[72][73][74]
On April 25, 2018, 57 members of the House of Representatives, led by Ro Khanna,[75] released a condemnation of Holocaust distortion in Ukraine.[76] They criticized Ukraine's 2015 memory laws glorifying Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and its leaders, such as Roman Shukhevych.[77] The condemnation came in an open bipartisan letter to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan.[78]
In summer 2019, Trump froze $400 million in military aid to Ukraine which had been approved by Congress,[6] an aid package which was the subject of a scandal stemming from a phone call that Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on July 25. On August 12, 2019, an anonymous whistleblower submitted a complaint to US Inspector General Michael Atkinson that stated that Trump had attempted to pressure Zelenskyy into launching an investigation on former US Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden during the phone call.[79] On September 24, 2019, the United States House of Representatives initiated an impeachment inquiry against Trump.[80] Trump held a meeting with Zelenskyy in New York City on September 25, where they both stated that there was no pressuring during the July phone call and that nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.[81] Trump was impeached by the House, but later acquitted in the Senate trial and continued as President until the end of his term.
From May 2019 to May 2022 the USA did not have an ambassador to Ukraine.[82][83][32]
The United States had pledged $2.175 billion in military aid to Ukraine, which included the Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), a new rocket doubling the country's strike range in its conflict with Russia. The aid package also funded other weapons and equipment, such as air defense firing units, counter-drone systems, and precision-guided munitions. Since the invasion by Russian forces, the United States had pledged over $29.3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.[84]
In early February 2023, 11 House Republicans led by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, introduced what they called the "Ukraine Fatigue Resolution" (H.Res. 113), calling on Biden to end military and financial aid to Ukraine while pressuring Ukraine and Russia to agree on a peace agreement.[85]
In fall 2023, US public support for arming Ukraine in its war against Russia significantly dropped. Support for US weapon shipments to Ukraine dropped from 46% to 41% compared to a poll taken in May 2023. Both sides of the political spectrum saw a decline. Since the counteroffensive started in June 2023, Ukrainian forces have only retaken a series of small villages and settlements and are only in control of a small percentage of the territories occupied by Russian forces.[86]
Sister/twinning cities
Bohodukhiv, Kharkiv Oblast – 
Boyertown, Pennsylvania- Brovary, Kyiv Oblast – Rockford, Illinois
- Chernivtsi – Salt Lake City, Utah
- Chyhyryn, Cherkasy Oblast – Sebastopol, California
- Dolyna, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast – Prairie Village, Kansas
- Donetsk – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Drohobych, Lviv Oblast – Muscatine, Iowa and Buffalo, New York
- Horlivka, Donetsk Oblast – Pensacola, Florida and Buffalo, New York
- Ivano-Frankivsk – Arlington County, Virginia
- Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast – Grand Prairie, Texas
- Kaniv, Cherkasy Oblast – Sonoma, California
- Kharkiv – Cincinnati, Ohio
- Khmelnyskyi – Modesto, California
- Krasnodon, Luhansk Oblast – Birmingham, Alabama
- Kyiv – Chicago, Illinois
- Lviv – Corning, New York and Parma, Ohio
- Odesa – Baltimore, Maryland
- Poltava – Irondequoit, New York
- Smila, Cherkasy Oblast – Newton, Iowa
- Tysmenytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast – Bandera, Texas
- Uzhhorod, Zakarpattia Oblast – Corvallis, Oregon
- Vinnytsia – Birmingham, Alabama
Agreements and memorandums
- Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast – Omaha, Nebraska
- Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast – Lowell, Massachusetts
- Berezhany, Ternopil Oblast – Wethersfield, Connecticut
- Cherkasy – Des Moines, Iowa and Santa Rosa, California
- Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast – Little Rock, Arkansas
- Kamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast – Athens, Georgia
- Kherson – Kent, Washington
- Horishni Plavni, Poltava Oblast – Ithaca, New York
- Konotop, Sumy Oblast – Helena, Montana and Skokie, Illinois
- Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi, Cherkasy Oblast – Marshalltown, Iowa
- Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast – Providence, Rhode Island
- Myrhorod, Poltava Oblast – Randolph, Vermont
- Rubizhne, Luhansk Oblast – Louisville, Kentucky
- Shpola, Cherkasy Oblast – Oskaloosa, Iowa
- Simferopol, Crimea – Salem, Oregon
- Slavutych, Kyiv Oblast – Richland, Washington
- Svitlovodsk Kirovohrad Oblast – Springfield, Illinois
- Ternopil – Yonkers, New York
- Uman, Cherkasy Oblast – Davis, California
- Yalta, Crimea – Santa Barbara, California
Resident diplomatic missions
- Ukraine has an embassy in Washington, D.C. and consulates-general in Chicago, New York and San Francisco.[87] The current Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States is Oksana Markarova.[88]
- United States has an embassy in Kyiv.[89] The current ambassador of the United States to Ukraine is Bridget A. Brink.[32]
Embassy of Ukraine in Washington, D.C.
Consulate-General of Ukraine in New York
Consulate-General of Ukraine in San Francisco
Embassy of the United States in Kyiv
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High-level mutual visits
See also
- Foreign relations of Ukraine
- Foreign relations of United States
- Ukraine–NATO relations
- NATO–Russia relations
- Russia–Ukraine relations
- Russia–United States relations
- United States and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine–Commonwealth of Independent States relations
- Taras Shevchenko Memorial
- Ukrainian Americans
Comments
- Excluding Western Ukraine and Bessarabia, which were divided between Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia. The majority of these territories became part of the Ukrainian SSR between 1939 and 1945.
References
Further reading
External links
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