Trump Administration: U.S. suspends all military aid to Ukraine, Trump official says

Trump is angry – no help for Ukraine!
Photo: Independent.co.uk

President Trump on Monday temporarily suspended the delivery of all U.S. military aid to Ukraine, senior administration and military officials said, just days after Mr. Trump and Zelensky of Ukraine had an explosive confrontation at the White House, ‘The New York Times’ informs.

The order affects more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition in the pipeline and on order. It resulted from a series of meetings at the White House on Monday between Mr. Trump and his senior national security aides, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

The officials said the directive would be in effect until Mr. Trump determined that Ukraine had demonstrated a good-faith commitment to peace negotiations with Russia.

Mr. Trump’s decision dramatically escalates the breach between Washington and Kyiv, at a critical moment in the conflict. The most immediate beneficiary of the move is President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. If the suspension is lengthy, he can use the time to press for further territorial gains. And he may well decide to hold back from any negotiations at all, figuring that any prolonged dispute between Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky will only strengthen his position, either on the battlefield or when cease-fire talks ever take place.

The suspension also puts the United States in direct opposition to its major NATO allies. Most of the largest European nations, led by France, Britain and Germany, have pledged to step up aid to Ukraine in recent days, siding with Mr. Zelensky in his dispute with the Trump administration. But they simply do not have the stockpiles to make up the difference in the short term.

It was unclear what exactly Mr. Zelensky would need to do for Mr. Trump to resume the military assistance.

The tensions between Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky exploded into the open on Friday, when the two men were supposed to sign a deal at the White House for Ukraine to turn over rare mineral rights to repay U.S. military aid over the past three years. Instead, Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Mr. Zelensky in front of the cameras for not being grateful enough for U.S. support.

Mr. Zelensky has said that cutting off military assistance would be a devastating blow but would not end the fighting.

“The contribution from the United States to Ukraine’s defensive capability and security is now around 30 percent,” he said during an interview last month. “You can imagine what would happen to us without this crucial 30 percent.”

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