Trump seeks repayment from Europe for past Ukraine aid

President Donald Trump said Wednesday the United States has “virtually unlimited amounts of Mid to High Grade Ammunition” and is manufacturing munitions “at levels never seen before,” pushing back against months of reporting that the war with Iran has strained U.S. weapons stockpiles.

Trump made the claims in a Truth Social post published at 7:56 p.m. on September 3, in which he also said the United States would soon resume munitions sales to allies after prioritizing its own stockpiles during the conflict.

“For the treasonous SCUM that refuses to accurately report on our Military Operation in Iran, we have virtually unlimited amounts of Mid to High Grade Ammunition, far more than we could ever use for this, or for any other War (which is highly unlikely!), that could improbably take place,” Trump wrote. “In addition, we are producing Munitions at levels never seen before. We are stockpiling and preparing for any contingency that could happen. We are taking them for ourselves, the U.S.A., rather than selling them to others, but the sales to Allies will soon again, begin.”

The post is the latest in a series of denials Trump has issued since March, when reports first surfaced that the intensity of U.S. operations against Iran was drawing down stocks of key munitions. The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post reported in early March that Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine had raised concerns about depleted stockpiles ahead of the war’s start. Trump called those reports a “disgrace” at the time and said the U.S. had a “virtually unlimited supply” of certain munitions.

Similar reports resurfaced in July, when The New York Times, NBC News, CBS News and CNN reported that nearly two weeks of daily strikes on Iran had drawn down supplies of defensive interceptors, including Patriot and THAAD missiles, protecting U.S. bases in Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz disputed the reporting on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that month, saying anyone leaking such information “deserve[s] to be in jail.”

In August, Reuters reported that the U.S. Army had used “virtually all” of its inventories of Army Tactical Missile Systems and Precision Strike Missiles during the five-month conflict, citing people familiar with internal military data. Trump responded at the time by calling the U.S. munitions stockpile “massive” and vowing to hunt down “treasonous” leakers.

In Wednesday’s post, Trump also said the Biden administration had given Ukraine and NATO “far more Munitions” at no cost than the U.S. has used in Iran.

“Hundreds of Billions of Dollars was given to Ukraine and NATO, free of charge, that Europe would have paid for, If they were only asked, but we will be asking for that money, though somewhat belatedly!” Trump wrote.

U.S. military aid to Ukraine under the Biden administration totaled roughly $131 billion, according to figures compiled by the Atlantic Council, most of it disbursed in 2022. European countries have collectively provided more than $227 billion in total aid to Ukraine as of 2025, the same figures show, exceeding the U.S. contribution.

Since July 2025, the United States and NATO have operated the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, a mechanism under which European allies and Canada, not the United States, pay for U.S.-manufactured weapons shipped to Ukraine. The program was established through an agreement between Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. As of October 2025, 26 countries had contributed more than $4 billion through the initiative, according to the Atlantic Council.