Trump Pauses Ukraine Aid, Citing Zelensky's Peace Stance

Trump Administration Pauses Military Aid to Ukraine

The Trump administration has reportedly paused all military aid to Ukraine. This decision comes after a chaotic meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday. The meeting was part of a larger fraying of the U.S.-Ukraine alliance.

According to a Defense Department official, President Trump is reviewing whether Zelensky is willing to engage in good-faith efforts at making peace with Russia. A Trump administration official told Fox News that the decision is a "pause," not a permanent termination of aid.

The pause will affect more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition for Ukraine that has been ordered or is in the production process. It will also halt hundreds of millions of dollars of arms tied to the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that President Trump is the only world leader who has a chance at bringing an enduring and lasting end to the war in Ukraine. However, he did not directly address the aid pause.

This decision could have disastrous impacts on Ukraine's defense. Officials have said that Ukraine only has supplies to keep fighting Russia at current levels until the summer.

A Trump official told The Associated Press that they want to see that Ukrainian President Zelensky is "committed" to reaching a peace deal with Russia, and fast. The official added that the dramatic move is meant to ensure continued support is "contributing to a solution."

Just days ago, the U.S. and Ukraine looked set to ink a rare minerals deal that would give America access to Ukrainian resources. Both sides hoped this would deepen ties between the countries as part of the larger peace process to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

However, the tide quickly turned during the televised Friday meeting. The Republican administration accused Zelensky of overstepping and being ungrateful when he began discussing the need for deeper security guarantees to deter further aggression from Russia.

The Ukrainians were then asked to leave the White House, and Trump allies soon began calling for Zelensky's resignation.

Things got even worse at the beginning of this week, after Zelensky expressed his view that a peace deal was "very, very far away."

President Trump responded on Truth Social, writing, "This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!"

Ukraine's European allies have suggested making up for waning U.S. support and installing a peacekeeping force inside of Ukraine backed by some form of U.S. guarantees.

The aid pause is reminiscent of the first Trump administration, in which the Republican attempted to withhold military aid to Zelensky to pressure the country into announcing an investigation into Trump's 2020 election opponent, Joe Biden.