Trump hits pause on military aid to Ukraine
Washington: President Donald Trump has directed a “pause” to US assistance to Ukraine after a disastrous Oval Office meeting as he seeks to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage in peace talks with Russia.
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 official added that the US was “pausing and reviewing” its aid to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution.” The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the assistance.
The moment comes some five years after Trump held up congressionally authorised assistance to Ukraine in 2019 as he sought to pressure Zelenskyy to launch investigations into Joe Biden, then a Democratic presidential candidate. The moment led to Trump’s first impeachment.
Trump in the leadup to his 2024 election win vowed to quickly end the war in Ukraine. He expressed increasing frustration with Zelenskyy over the war, while simultaneously expressing confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin can be trusted to keep the peace if a truce in the conflict is reached.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Oval Office blowup with US President Donald Trump was “regrettable,” and that, “it is time to make things right.”
“Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. “It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive.”
He said Ukraine is ready to sign a deal on its rare-earth minerals that was sought by the Trump administration.
“Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time and in any convenient format,” Zelenskyy said. “We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively.”
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 prominent Trump allies escalate pressure on Zelenskyy to dramatically change his approach to the US president, who has made quickly ending the war a top priority, or step aside.
The long complicated relationship between the leaders has reached a nadir following the disastrous White House meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance excoriated Zelenskyy for not being sufficiently thankful for US support for Ukraine since Putin ordered the February 2022 invasion.
“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,” Trump added. “That person will not be listened to very long.”
Trump took issue with Zelenskyy suggesting it would take time to come to an agreement to end the war. The Ukrainian leader also tried to offer a positive take on the US-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of last week’s White House meeting.
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,” he added.
But Trump was only further irritated by Zelenskyy’s suggesting it will take time for the conflict to come to a close.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US — Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” Trump added in his post. “What are they thinking?”
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,” Zelenskyy added. “We lose our people. We need to stop the war and to guarantee security.”
Trump’s national security adviser said Zelenskyy’s posture during Friday’s Oval Office talks “put up in the air” whether he’s someone the US administration will be able to deal with going forward.
“Is he ready, personally, politically, to move his country towards an end to the fighting?” Mike Waltz said on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” earlier Monday. “And can he and will he make the compromises necessary?”
Waltz added another layer of doubt about U.S. support as other high-profile Trump allies have suggested that the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy is becoming untenable.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that Zelenskyy “needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country” for Ukraine to continue pursuing a peace deal negotiated by the United States.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally who has been a vociferous supporter of Ukraine, said soon after the Oval Office meeting that Zelenskyy “either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change.”
Angela Stent, a former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council, said Putin is likely in no rush to end the war amid the fissures between Trump and Zelenskyy and Europe and the US about the way ahead.
