US President Donald Trump has ordered a halt to all military aid to Ukraine, days after he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy clashed during a meeting at the White House, Bloomberg reports.
According to a senior Defense Department official, the United States will suspend all current military assistance to Ukraine until Trump decides that the country’s leaders have demonstrated a good faith commitment to peace.
The official said that all U.S. military equipment not currently in Ukraine would be suspended, including weapons in transit on airplanes and ships or waiting in transit zones in Poland.
According to the source, Trump ordered Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth to pause.
Bloomberg notes that the US president is pushing for a quick deal to end the war that has been going on for three years. But when Zelenskiy demanded security guarantees in the Oval Office last week that Russia not violate the agreement, Trump angrily told him to come back when he was ready for peace.
This, in turn, has forced European allies to rush to develop plans to supply Ukraine with weapons as well as peacekeepers as part of the deal. However, Europe lacks many other weapons and capabilities that the United States currently provides. Allied officials have said that the arms supplies are likely to last only until the summer.
The newspaper writes that it is not yet clear to what extent Trump’s order will affect the amount of aid. He took office with $3.85 billion of money left over from the previous administration in the form of the so-called Presidential Authorization for the Reduction of
US Stockpiles. It is unclear whether the Trump administration will actually use this money for Ukraine, especially given that the US stockpile of weapons is running low and needs to be replenished.
Also, Monday’s decision goes beyond simply cutting off funding, but jeopardizes aid that is already being delivered or in progress. This includes the delivery of critical munitions, hundreds of guided missile systems and anti-tank weapons, and other capabilities.
Termination of existing contracts with industry may also require the US to pay some form of break fee to companies that have begun fulfilling orders.
The US and Ukraine were supposed to sign a deal that would have allowed the US to get a significant share of future revenues from Ukraine’s natural resources, but after Friday’s meeting, the deal appears to have fallen apart, according to Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, the White House confirms the cancellation of military aid to Ukraine, CNN reports.
“The president has made it clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We’re suspending and reviewing our assistance to make sure it’s contributing to a solution,” the White House official said.
Another official said the pause would apply to all military equipment not already in Ukraine.
The pause is a direct response to what Trump sees as Zelenskiy’s bad behavior last week, the official said. They noted that the pause could be lifted if Zelenskiy demonstrates a renewed commitment to negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
