Trump pauses all US military aid to Ukraine after angry clash with Zelenskiy
WASHINGTON, March 4 - U.S. President Donald Trump has paused military aid to Ukraine following his clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week, a White House official said, deepening the fissure that has opened between the one-time allies.
The move comes after Trump upended U.S. policy on Ukraine and Russia upon taking office in January, adopting a more conciliatory stance towards Moscow - and after an explosive confrontation with Zelenskiy at the White House on Friday, in which Trump criticized him for being insufficiently grateful for Washington's backing in the war with Russia.
"President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution," said the official on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
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.
Zelenskiy's office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment and neither did the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington.
Democrats in the U.S. Congress denounced the move.
“By freezing military aid to Ukraine, President Trump has kicked the door wide open for Putin to escalate his violent aggression against innocent Ukrainians. The repercussions will undoubtedly be devastating,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The U.S. decision on Ukrainian aid strengthens Russia's position and makes peace more difficult to obtain, the French junior minister for Europe, Benjamin Haddad, said on Tuesday.
Suspending arms to Ukraine made peace "more distant, because it only strengthens the hand of the aggressor on the ground, which is Russia," Haddad told France 2.
Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said Trump's military aid pause looked like the U.S. president was pushing Kyiv to capitulate.
"On the surface, this looks really bad. It looks like he is pushing us towards capitulation, meaning (accepting) Russia's demands," he said.
On Monday, Trump again said Zelenskiy should be more appreciative of American support after earlier responding angrily to an Associated Press report quoting Zelenskiy as saying the end of the war was "very, very far away."
"This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!" Trump wrote on Truth Social, using an alternative spelling of the Ukrainian leader's name.
MINERALS DEAL NOT DEAD, SAYS TRUMP
Since Russia's invasion three years ago, the U.S. Congress has approved $175 billion in total assistance for Ukraine, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
The Trump administration inherited $3.85 billion worth of Congressionally approved authority to dip into U.S. arms stocks for Ukraine, but given the growing row between Washington and Kyiv, it appeared unlikely that assistance would be used.
Monday's move also appeared to halt deliveries of military equipment approved by former President Joe Biden, including munitions, missiles and other systems.
Still, Trump suggested on Monday that a deal to open up Ukraine's minerals to U.S. investment could be agreed, as European leaders floated proposals for a truce in Russia's war with its neighbor.
The Trump administration viewed a minerals deal as America's way of earning back some of the tens of billions of dollars it has given to Ukraine in financial and military aid since Russia invaded three years ago.
When asked on Monday if the deal was dead, Trump said at the White House: "No, I don't think so."
Trump described it as a "great deal for us" and said he would give an update on the situation on Tuesday night when he addresses a joint session of Congress.
SECURITY GUARANTEES
In an interview on Fox News, Vice President JD Vance called on Zelenskiy to accept the minerals deal.
"If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine," Vance said.
Zelenskiy has made clear that a ceasefire must carry explicit security guarantees from the West to ensure that Russia, which holds about 20% of its land, does not attack again. Trump has refused to give any such guarantees.
The U.S. decision left many questions unanswered, including whether munitions for the already delivered weapons systems can now be supplied or if the U.S. would still share intelligence with Ukraine on target identification and missile launches.
Key members of congressional oversight committees were not notified of the decision, including those on the Senate Armed Services Committee, a person with knowledge told Reuters.
Razom for Ukraine, a Ukrainian advocacy group, condemned the White House's decision on military aid.
"By abruptly halting military assistance to Ukraine, President Trump is hanging Ukrainians out to dry and giving Russia the green light to keep marching west," it said in a statement.
EUROPE SEEKS PEACE PLAN
Prior to the White House's decision to halt its aid, 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 enjoyed staunch support from Washington since Russia's invasion.
France, Britain and potentially other European countries have offered to send troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire - something Moscow has rejected - but say they would want support from the U.S., or a "backstop."
However, the Hungarian government, a vocal critic of EU sanctions against Moscow and the bloc's financial and military support for Ukraine, said of Trump's pause in military aid: "The U.S. president and the Hungarian government share the same stance: instead of continuing weapons shipments and the war, a ceasefire and peace talks are needed as soon as possible."
Source: Reuters
