After months of skepticism towards Ukraine’s military support, President Donald Trump has finally approved a bill that might give some respite to the war-torn country. On December 18, the POTUS signed the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law.
According to the bill, the US will increase its military budget to a whopping $901 billion, of which $800 million will be spent on weapons contracts for Ukraine. The funding will be provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) in two equal installments of $400 million in 2026 and 2027.
The amount is small relative to the overall defense budget. It appears even smaller compared to USAI’s April 2024 funding of $14 billion. However, the law is still a big deal given that Trump has always been critical of Ukraine and vowed to stop military support to the country to put an end to its war with Russia.
🇺🇸The US Senate has approved a defense budget for Ukraine of $800 million
The NDAA bill provides for the allocation of funding for 2026–2027 to support Ukraine’s defense capabilities
Support 🙏 pic.twitter.com/XJk9RwkEnS
— Shaun Pinner (@olddog100ua) December 17, 2025
Despite Trump’s previous resistance to funding Ukraine, the bill was passed in both chambers of Congress with an overwhelming majority. Both Democrats and Republicans came together to get the bill approved. The House of Representatives voted 312-112 in favor of the NDAA, while the Senate cleared the bill with a 77–20 vote.
In addition to military funding, the bill ensures that the Department of Defense cannot limit intelligence support to Ukraine without notifying Congress. The provision is intended to limit political pressure on Kyiv after Trump threatened to stop information assistance.
At the same time, the law also has a provision to authorize US agencies to help return and rehabilitate Ukrainian children taken by Russia during the war. Ukraine is not the only country that would benefit from the NDAA. The bill has allocated $175 million to strengthen the defense of NATO’s eastern allies, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. The bill also boosts European security, as the Pentagon is now prohibited from reducing US troop levels in the union below 76,000.
NDAA-2026 (passed by the House on December 10–11, 2025) prohibits Trump from withdrawing U.S. troops from Europe without Congressional and NATO approval.
Guarantees basic military assistance to Ukraine (over $400 million) even if Trump completely cuts off emergency funding. pic.twitter.com/gqa2ZiUPoN
— Pavel Sychoff (@sychov020674) December 14, 2025
Even though Trump might not be pleased with providing military funding to Ukraine, he seems satisfied with the overall bill. The White House released an official statement by the President after he signed the bill, which read, “The Act will enable the Department of War to carry out my Peace Through Strength agenda, protect the homeland from domestic and foreign threats, and strengthen the defense industrial base.”
As for what the law has in store for the US military, the legislation has approved a 4% pay raise for service members, one of the largest in recent years. Additionally, billions of dollars have been allocated for naval vessels, aircraft modernization, and improved weapons systems.
With the NDAA, Congress has found a way to limit the Trump administration and the Pentagon’s power to reduce help for Ukraine. Meanwhile, the law also aims to boost the morale of the troops with increased pay and strengthen the country’s military capabilities.
