The US has spent over $300 billion on aid to Kiev, according to President Donald Trump

The American people do not want to see their taxpayer dollars endlessly being spent on the Ukraine conflict, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said.

To date, the US Congress has approved nearly $183 billion in aid for Kiev since the escalation of the conflict in 2022. US President Donald Trump has put the total at more than $300 billion.

Kennedy, who was confirmed as the new US health secretary last week, said it was time to cut the flow of funding, in a statement on X on Sunday.

"The American people will not accept hard-earned tax dollars fueling endless conflicts. We demand an end to these forever wars," he wrote.

"It's time for peace! The perpetual funding is over!"

Since his inauguration last month, Trump and his administration have pivoted to an "America First" approach to foreign funding, amid a wider push to cut government spending. Most US aid abroad has been suspended while it is reviewed for alignment with the new administration's goals.

Earlier this month, Trump insisted that Kiev repay Washington for the funding it has received to date, which the US leader claimed was "more than $300 billion." Trump demanded the "equivalent of $500 billion worth of rare earths" from Ukraine in return.

According to The Economist, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky an hour to sign away Ukraine's mineral wealth in its entirety when they met last week, which Zelensky reportedly declined.

One former Ukrainian senior official referred to the agreement as "colonial," according to AP.

Moscow and Washington agreed to establish a framework toward settling the Ukraine conflict during talks in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday. The bilateral meeting was the first between US and Russian diplomats since the West froze ties three years ago.

Ukrainian and EU officials were not invited to the discussions in Saudi Arabia, and Zelensky has insisted that he will consider any decisions taken without his presence as null and void.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who led the Russian delegation, noted the negotiations were productive, and that the US side "now has a clearer understanding of Russia's position."

(RT.com)