Ukrainian soldiers react to Trump: If we run out of American bullets, we'll find another gun
The Trump administration recently cut the flow of military support to Ukraine.
Ukrainian soldiers told BI that they were upset with the decision but would keep fighting.
"We are on our own land, and we want to defend it," said a soldier in an air defense unit.
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian soldiers are grappling with the weight of President Donald Trump's decisions to cut support as they continue to defend their homeland against the Russians.
Soldiers serving in a mobile air defense unit just outside Kyiv shared their thoughts on the situation with Business Insider on Friday. Asking to be identified only by their first names for security reasons, they said they were disappointed but would find a way to keep up the fight.
Oleksiy, one of the Ukrainian soldiers, said that he doesn't see developments as the decision of the American people but rather that of one man. "It is a pity, but we will fight."
Trump directed a pause in military aid to Ukraine on March 3 as Washington sought to pressure Kyiv to engage in an expedited peace process with Russia on unfavorable terms.
In the following days, the US cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine and restricted access to critical satellite imagery; the extent is unclear. These three moves left Kyiv vulnerable to an emboldened Russia on and off the battlefield.
Some Ukrainian officials have said that Russia is advancing right now, Kyiv is unable to use some of its best weapons, and there are concerns about ammunition, according to recent reports.
Officials told BI that the full effect of the pause in military aid remains to be seen, but the impact could very much be felt throughout Kyiv's armed forces.
Air defense soldiers with Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces said the pause could end up affecting the truck-mounted .50 caliber M2 Browning machine gun that they use to shoot down explosive-packed Russian drones.
"If we run out of ammunition for the American machine gun, we will use other guns," Oleksiy said, adding that "even if they are of a smaller caliber, we will still do our job."
The deputy air defense unit commander, whose name is also Oleksiy, said Ukrainian lives depend on US military support. "We hope this issue will be resolved in the near future," he said. "We are on our own land, and we want to defend it."
Trump said during a very heated Oval Office meeting in late February — which set the reduced US support in motion — that he did not believe that Ukraine was winning the war against Russia.
There is uncertainty about what could happen without more US assistance. Some Ukrainian officials and lawmakers are hopeful that Ukraine can get by relying on its booming defense industry and support from European countries, but some of the American support — specifically on air defense — is critical.
Serhiy Rakhmanin, a member of Ukraine's parliamentary committee on national security, defense, and intelligence, told BI earlier in the week that Ukraine could manage without American support for tactical operations at and near the front lines, but US involvement is crucial for more strategic efforts.
"It's hard to say; we'll see what happens," said Svitlana, the only woman in the air defense unit.
Other Ukrainians have put more weight on the US decision and warned that it could have serious consequences. Oleksandr Markushyn, a TDF commander and the mayor of Irpin, a city on the outskirts of Kyiv, told BI that he had been surprised by Trump's decisions so far.
Markushyn, speaking through a translator in a separate interview on Saturday, warned that if the US does not help Ukraine, then after it, Russia might move to take over other European countries. He led Ukraine's defense of Irpin during the early weeks of Russia's invasion as Moscow's forces tried to take Kyiv.
"The United States is a powerful country," Markushyn said. "And if not the United States, no one will stop Russia."
The White House did not respond to a request for comment from BI on how they see recent decisions and the effects on Ukrainian soldiers.
It is unclear how long the pause in military aid could last. Trump has routinely suggested that he is not satisfied with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's approach to the US efforts to end Russia's grinding full-scale invasion, which just recently passed the three-year mark.
Conflict analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, a DC-based think tank, said Russia will likely take advantage of the pause in US support for Ukraine and intensify its missile and drone attacks against the country.
Ukrainian officials said Russian strikes over the weekend killed more than two dozen people, wounding scores more.
Read the original article on Business Insider
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