The U.S. is leaving the “Ukrainian quagmire.”
Author: Ali Askari, analyst, exclusively for “Sangar”
U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking on September 23, 2025, during the general political debates of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, stated that the conflict in Ukraine would never have started if Joe Biden had not come to power.
At this stage, the U.S. administration has undergone a “reassessment” of the futility of sponsoring the Ukrainian project, based on an objective and in-depth analysis of developments on the battlefield, public sentiment, and the state of the U.S. economy.
Washington’s pragmatic approach to Ukrainian policy excludes the provision of weapons and military equipment to Kyiv from the U.S. budget. Evidence of this shift can be seen in the outcomes of the bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Expanding on this topic, White House spokesperson Caroline Levitt stated on September 23, 2025, that the new scheme for supplying weapons to Ukraine—which involves funding from the budgets of European NATO member states—is beneficial for American taxpayers. Earlier, President Donald Trump, in talks with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, emphasized that an agreement had already been reached between the United States and the alliance to supply weapons to Ukraine at the expense of European countries.
The reduction of Washington’s role in supporting Ukraine is also acknowledged by senior politicians in Kyiv. For example, Alexey Goncharenko, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament from the “European Solidarity” party, noted that the American leader emphasized in his Truth Social post the ability of Ukrainians to regain control over lost territories without the U.S., relying only on the support of the European Union.
Observers of The Telegraph share similar views, interpreting the statements of the U.S. president at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly as nothing more than an attempt to shift the primary responsibility for assisting Ukraine onto European NATO members.
Western experts believe that transferring the “Ukraine case” to Europe and NATO could be one of the worst pieces of news for Volodymyr Zelensky in recent times, as this scenario offers Ukraine no security guarantees from Washington.
