KYIV, Ukraine — Hunter Biden doesn’t matter much to Ukrainians, but the controversy that surrounds him will make it difficult for President Joe Biden to reduce the amount of lethal military equipment former President Donald Trump sent to the country, defense experts here tell the Washington Examiner.

During Joe Biden’s time as vice president under Barack Obama, he took a keen interest in Ukraine, making several visits, pursuing anti-corruption policies, and pushing for military assistance in the wake of Russia’s 2014 invasion and seizure of the Crimean peninsula. The interest may have contributed to his son, Hunter Biden’s, lucrative position on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma for a five-year term that ended in 2019. Obama was reluctant to provide lethal assistance to Ukraine, but Trump sold the country Javelin anti-tank missiles and then boasted of the deterrent effect it had on Russia.