President Trump Has Paused US Military Aid To Ukraine, Says White House

Days after a meltdown between Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump at the Oval Office, the U.S. president has paused all military aid to Ukraine, a White House official confirmed on Monday.

According to the Associated Press, a White House official on Monday said, “Trump is focused on reaching a peace deal to end the more than three-year war sparked by Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine and wants Zelenskyy ‘committed’ to that goal.”

“The US was pausing and reviewing its aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution,” the official added. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the assistance.

Trump earlier on Monday slammed Zelenskyy for suggesting that the end of Russia’s war against Ukraine likely ‘is still very, very far away.

The comments come as key Trump allies are increasing pressure on Zelenskyy to dramatically shift his approach to the U.S. president, who has made ending the war quickly his top priority, or else step down.

The relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy has reached a new low after a tense meeting at the White House, where Trump and Vice President Vance slammed Zelenskyy for not showing enough appreciation for US support in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform about the comments Zelenskyy made late Sunday while speaking to reporters in London.

Trump, at an event at the White House later on Monday, referred to Zelenskyy’s reported comments and asserted the Ukrainian leader “better not be right about that.”.

“If somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long. That person will not be listened to very long,” Trump added, as quoted by AP.

Trump objected to Zelensky’s suggestion that it would take time to reach a deal to end the war. The Ukrainian leader also sought to take a positive tone on US-Ukraine relations after their meeting at the White House last week.

Earlier on Monday, asked by a reporter about the outlines of a new European initiative to end Russia’s war, Zelenskyy said, “We are talking about the first steps today, and, therefore, until they are on paper, I would not like to talk about them in great detail. An agreement to end the war is still very, very far away, and no one has started all these steps yet.”

Zelenskyy took to social media soon after Trump’s latest criticism. 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. “We lose our people. We need to stop the war and to guarantee security,” Zelenskyy added.

OutLook India