While she served in her post until January 2025, Cooper was coordinating U.S. military aid to Kyiv during the Russo–Ukrainian war.
“I think it’s very important to look not only at the U.S. government but also at public opinion,” Cooper said.
“Today we have a government that has stopped providing new security assistance to Ukraine, and I think that is very problematic. But that policy does not reflect what the American people want.”
She noted that consistent polling shows a majority of Americans support providing security assistance to Ukraine.
“So I really think we shouldn’t treat the current moment as something permanent,” the former Pentagon official said.
On May 1, it emerged that the U.S. budget draft for fiscal 2027 does not include separate funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), the Pentagon program used to buy weapons from U.S. defense contractors for Ukraine rather than transfer equipment directly from U.S. stockpiles.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, answering questions about future funding for Ukraine support, said Washington expects greater contributions from European allies.
On April 15, Vice President JD Vance said he was
proudest of ending “funding the war in Ukraine,” calling it one of the Trump
administration’s major achievements.