WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will ask European nations to pay back the American aid provided to Ukraine under the administration of his predecessor Joe Biden amid the ongoing war with Russia.In a social media post, Trump also slammed reports of heavily depleted US munition stockpiles amid the war in Iran, while adding that the United States was ramping up production and stockpiling munitions.Trump has long demanded that Europeans shoulder more of the cost of Western support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, which began more than four years ago.“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 on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.The American president did not specify which countries he believed should pay.In his post, Trump also rejected reports that the US military was running low on munitions.“We have virtually unlimited amounts of Mid to High Grade Ammunition,” he wrote, adding that munitions are being produced at “levels never seen before.”Trump said that Washington was building up stockpiles and preparing for contingencies, and had temporarily suspended overseas arms sales.“We are taking (munitions) for ourselves, the U.S.A., rather than selling them to others, but the sales to Allies will soon again, begin,” he added.Reuters reported last month that the US Army has used up much of its stockpile of highly accurate long-range missiles during the Iran war, raising concerns about the military’s readiness for future conflicts.On Thursday, oil prices hit fresh six-week highs as the latest US strikes on Iran and renewed Israeli threats against Tehran revived concerns about disruptions to Middle East supplies as vessels remain throttled in the Strait of Hormuz.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday sought to partly blame Kyiv’s recent strikes against Russian energy targets for rising oil and gas prices.”We are going through an energy shock right now due to both the war in Ukraine — because, you know, Ukraine has decided that they want to blow up Russian energy assets and refined products, so that is creating upward price pressure on a global basis — and then the conflict in Iran,” he told Fox News in an interview.
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