Representative Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina, has proposed reauthorizing a lend-lease agreement to provide Ukraine with weapons to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he described as a “war criminal.”
Newsweek has contacted Wilson’s office and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry for comment.
Why It Matters
In 2022, Congress passed the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act to facilitate the supply of materiel to Kyiv to fight Russia. The bill expired in September 2023 without being used.
The legislation was akin to the World War II Lend-Lease Act, in which equipment is supplied at no cost and is to be used until returned or destroyed. As questions hang over U.S. aid for Ukraine, a new lend-lease deal could give Kyiv weapons without drawing on American taxpayer dollars.
What To Know
On Monday, Wilson announced on X, formerly Twitter, that he would introduce the first lend-lease act to give President Donald Trump the authority to arm Ukraine against Russia.
The $895 billion U.S. defense bill that Congress passed in December did not include a provision to extend the lend-lease act for Kyiv.
However, Ukrainian diplomats have been lobbying for its reintroduction as it would allow the U.S. president to loan or lease arms to Ukraine while cutting through congressional red tape.
Wilson, who chairs the U.S. Helsinki Commission and the National Security and Foreign Affairs Task Force, wrote that he would introduce the Freedom First Lend-Lease Act to “give President Trump flexible authorities to send war-winning weapons to our partners including Ukraine.”
Today, I will introduce the FREEDOM FIRST LEND-LEASE ACT to give President Trump flexible authorities to send war-winning weapons to our partners including Ukraine to deter War Criminal Putin as Biden should have done long ago. Bring Russia to the table through American Strength!
— Joe Wilson (@RepJoeWilson) February 10, 2025
The representative said the move could help bring Russia “to the table through American strength.”
U.S. weapons approved for supply by former President Joe Biden are still being supplied to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, told Reuters.
However, amid speculation over Washington’s military aid for Ukraine, the Trump administration intends to get allies in Europe to start buying American weapons for Ukraine, the news agency reported.
What People Are Saying
U.S. Representative Joe Wilson: “Today, I will introduce the FREEDOM FIRST LEND-LEASE ACT to give President Trump flexible authorities to send war-winning weapons to our partners including Ukraine to deter War Criminal Putin as Biden should have done long ago. Bring Russia to the table through American Strength!”
What Happens Next
Details of the bill and whether it has the backing of other members of Congress remain unclear.
It is also unclear if the U.S. plans to ask European countries to purchase American arms through commercial contracts or from the American stockpile.
Unnamed sources told Reuters that Kellogg would discuss the issue at the Munich Security Conference, which begins on Friday, as the Trump administration looks at how to continue supplying Ukraine without incurring large costs.
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