President Donald Trump has ordered a suspension on the shipment of US military aid to Ukraine after discussions in his oval office with Ukrainian President Voldy Zelensky last week, White House officials told CNN on Monday.
The suspension of aid that came after Trump held a series of meetings with the White House’s top national security authorities could have a disastrous effect on Ukraine’s fighting capabilities, officials and analysts said. It will remain in place until Trump decides that Zelensky is committed to seeking peace negotiations, one official forced Ukraine to force it to the negotiation table by essentially threatening further losses on the battlefield.
“The President has made it clear that he is focused on peace, and the partners need to commit to that goal. White House officials are pausing and reviewing our assistance to make sure it contributes to the solution.
After more than a week of open hostility between Washington and Kiev, Monday’s moratorium was the most important indication of how degraded relations have been since Trump took office.
The suspension applies to all military equipment that is not yet within Ukraine, officials say, and corresponds to a direct response to what Trump considers Zelensky’s bad behavior last week.
Ukraine could maintain its current pace of combat, perhaps until the beginning of the summer, Western officials said in the wake of the decision. The Biden administration hastily rushed to Ukraine to ship weapons on a decline day, providing the country with a large stockpile of advanced weapons.
It is a sophisticated weapon that includes long-range ATACM missiles that allowed Ukraine to penetrate deeper into Russian territory.
While European countries may be able to replace the artillery cargo supplemented by Ukraine’s own growing defense industry with the US, the most advanced weapon used by Kiev comes from the US.