Photo: Ending military aid to Ukraine will undermine US influence in the world (mil.in.ua) Author: Valeriy Savitsky
The US halting aid to Ukraine will strengthen the influence of the pro-Russian bloc's allies in the world and allow them to dictate Washington's boundaries of interaction with other countries. It will also lead to a general limitation of US influence in the world.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The agency's analysts are convinced that cutting aid to Ukraine could lead to a decrease in the United States' influence in the world and embolden its opponents.
Russia, Iran, North Korea and the People's Republic of China (PRC) have formed a bloc aimed at defeating the United States and its allies around the world, and are now testing the limits of Washington's loyalty to its allies in Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.
ISW noted that in late February 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping, during a telephone conversation with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, said that China and Russia are “true friends” who “cannot be pushed away” from each other and who “cannot be influenced by any third party.”
The Institute also recalled that since the start of the full-scale war, Russia has concluded bilateral agreements on comprehensive strategic partnership with China in May 2023, North Korea in October 2024, and Iran in January 2025.
The agency’s analysts noted that Putin continues to rely on Iranian drones and North Korean ballistic missiles and troops in his war against Ukraine. U.S. aid is a demonstration of a commitment to defending democracies from current and future aggression around the world, including but not limited to Ukraine, Israel, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Given the situation, the Institute believes that the Russia-led bloc will likely view abandoning Ukraine as an indication that the United States will abandon its other allies and will seek to test the limits of American commitments around the world.
“The Russia-led bloc seeks divisions between the United States and its allies that can be easily exploited to weaken and isolate America on the world stage. This will allow adversaries to rise and dictate where and how the United States can engage with the world. Cutting American aid to Ukraine is directly in line with the goals of these adversaries and is a step toward limiting U.S. influence in the world,” ISW noted.
Key findings
The Institute for the Study of War also listed key findings, taking into account the current political and military situation. Thus, the department states that:
- Cutting the current flow of aid to Ukraine would directly undermine President Donald Trump's stated goal of achieving sustainable peace;
- Ukrainian forces, which have received substantial U.S. military assistance, are inflicting crippling casualties on Russian troops while holding them to marginal territorial gains. This situation, coupled with the serious challenges Russia faces in 2025, gives the U.S. significant leverage in peace negotiations. Suspending current U.S. military aid to Ukraine would allow President Vladimir Putin to continue to raise his demands and fuel his belief that he can achieve total victory through war;
- The main obstacle to a lasting peace deal in Ukraine remains Putin, not Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky;
- The Kremlin has launched another information effort aimed at preventing additional US and European military aid to Ukraine by claiming that Russia has won the war in Ukraine.
Zelensky's high-profile visit to the US
On Friday, February 28, President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington to sign a minerals agreement between Ukraine and the United States.
However, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in the presence of the media, an emotional verbal altercation broke out between Zelensky, US President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.
American leaders accused Zelensky of not being ready for peace talks and ending the war, and demanded that he “thank the United States” for three years of financial and military support for Ukraine.
After high-profile negotiations, Zelensky left the White House early, and the agreement on natural resources was not signed.
On March 1, American media reported that the White House was considering the possibility of completely ending US military aid to Ukraine.
The Trump administration could cut off all military funding, intelligence sharing, training for Ukrainian troops and pilots, and operations at the U.S. air base at Ramstein in Germany.
At the same time, CNN assures that there is no risk of a total cessation of aid to Ukraine from the US.
Read urgent and important news about Russia's war against Ukraine on the RBC-Ukraine channel in Telegram.