- Trump suggests minerals deal with Ukraine still possible.
- Vance says best security is US economic stake in Ukraine.
- European leaders propose peace plan, seek US support.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has paused military aid to Ukraine following his clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week, a White House official said, deepening the fissure that has opened between the two one-time allies.
The move comes after Trump upended US policy on Ukraine and Russia upon taking office in January, adopting a more conciliatory stance towards Moscow – and after an explosive confrontation with Zelensky at the White House on Friday in which Trump criticised him for being insufficiently grateful for Washington’s backing in the war with Russia.
“President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution,” said the official on Monday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The White House had no immediate comment on the scope and amount of aid affected or how long the pause would last. The Pentagon could not provide further details.
Zelensky’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment nor did the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington.
On Monday, Trump again said Zelensky should be more appreciative of American support after earlier responding angrily to an Associated Press report quoting Zelensky as saying the end of the war is “very, very far away.”
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, using an alternative spelling of the Ukrainian leader’s name.
Minerals deal not dead, says Trump
Since Russia’s invasion three years ago, the US Congress has approved $175 billion in total assistance for Ukraine, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
The Trump administration inherited $3.85 billion worth of Congressionally-approved authority to dip into US arms stocks for Ukraine, but given the growing row between Washington and Kyiv, it was already unlikely for that assistance to be used.
Monday’s move goes beyond the no-new aid stance Trump had taken since assuming office – and appears to halt deliveries of military equipment approved by Biden including munitions, missiles and other systems.
But Trump also suggested on Monday that a deal to open up Ukraine’s minerals to US investment could still be agreed despite his frustration with Kyiv, as European leaders floated proposals for a truce in Russia’s war with its neighbour.
The Trump administration views a minerals deal as America’s way of earning back some of the tens of billions of dollars it has given to Ukraine in financial and military aid since Russia invaded three years ago.
When asked on Monday if the deal was dead, Trump said at the White House: “No, I don’t think so.”
Trump described it as a “great deal for us” and said he would give an update on the situation on Tuesday night when he addresses a joint session of Congress.
