Trump pauses US military aid to Ukraine, pressuring Zelenskyy for swift peace deal
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump has paused military aid to Ukraine following his clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week, who recently stated that the end of the war is “very, very far away.”
The White House had no immediate comment on the scope and amount of aid affected or how long the pause would last. The Pentagon could not provide further details.
Trump described Zelenskiy’s statement as “the worst that could have been made,” adding that “America will not put up with it for much longer!”
A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Trump is focused on reaching a peace deal and wants Zelenskyy “committed” to that goal. The official added that the U.S. was “pausing and reviewing” its aid to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”
The order will remain in effect until Trump determines that Ukraine has demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia, the official said.
The move comes just days after a disastrous Oval Office meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance tore into Zelenskyy for what they perceived as insufficient gratitude for the more than $180 billion in military aid the U.S. has sent to Kyiv three years ago.
Trump’s national security adviser said Zelenskyy’s posture during Friday’s Oval Office talks “put up in the air” whether he’s someone the U.S. administration will be able to deal with going forward.
“Is he ready, personally, politically, to move his country towards an end to the fighting?” Mike Waltz said Monday on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” “And can he and will he make the compromises necessary?”
Waltz added another layer of doubt about U.S. support as other high-profile Trump allies, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Sen. Lindsey Graham, have suggested that the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy is becoming untenable.
The Ukrainian leader later took to social media in an effort to further explain his thinking. He did not directly refer to Trump’s comments, but underscored that it “is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest possible.”
“We need real peace, and Ukrainians want it most because the war ruins our cities and towns,” Zelenskyy added. “We lose our people. We need to stop the war and to guarantee security.”
Razom for Ukraine, a Ukrainian advocacy group, condemned the White House’s decision on aid. “By abruptly halting military assistance to Ukraine, President Trump is hanging Ukrainians out to dry,” the group said in a statement.
Prior to this decision, European nations were rallying around Zelenskiy and trying to hatch a peace plan.
Privately, and sometimes publicly, officials are fuming at what they see as a betrayal of Ukraine, which had long enjoyed staunch support from Washington.
France, Britain, and potentially other European countries have offered to send troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire—something Moscow has already rejected—but said they still want support from the U.S., or a “backstop.”
