Donald Trump stunned NATO allies as he ended all US military aid to Ukraine late on Monday in an effort to pile pressure on Volodymyr Zelensky to end the war on his terms.
‘The President 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,’ a White House official said.
The decision casts doubt over Ukraine’s ability to continue to defend itself against the Russian invaders. It is understood the ‘pause’ will extend to undelivered aid already earmarked for Ukraine by the Biden administration.
A second official told Fox News that ‘this is not permanent termination of aid, it’s a pause’. All military equipment not currently in Ukraine will be halted and all future aid is now in jeopardy.
Trump’s manipulation of the war followed an abrupt post warning that ‘America will not put up with it for much longer’ on Monday after Zelensky had suggested the end of the war is still ‘very, very far away’.
Zelensky had spoken after a summit in London on Sunday, with 18 allies joining to offer Ukraine security guarantees and reify their support. British PM Keir Starmer said a ‘coalition of the willing’ would come together to present a viable peace plan to Trump.
But Zelensky’s warning was met with ire in Washington, where Trump’s inner circle branded the comment ‘evil’.
‘This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer,’ an infuriated Trump posted on his Truth Social website after upping the pressure on Kyiv to end the war.
Trump also questioned Zelensky’s commitment to peace, saying that he ‘doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing’. He also hinted that Zelensky might not be Ukrainian president much longer.
Elon Musk later branded Zelensky ‘evil’ for pushing a ‘forever war’ with Russia.
‘Zelensky wants a forever war, a never-ending graft meat grinder. This is evil,’ Musk wrote on X in reaction to Trump’s comments.
Musk also alleged in another post that Zelensky ‘wants a forever war’ because he would otherwise ‘lose his spotlight on the international stage’.
In reply to a post on X claiming that ‘Zelensky knows if the war ends, his power ends’ and branding him a ‘dictator’, Musk said: ‘True. As distasteful as it is, Zelensky should be offered some kind of amnesty in a neutral country in exchange for a peaceful transition back to democracy in Ukraine.’
The latest developments came as war raged overnight, with Russia again hitting civilian infrastructure – with a drone striking a children’s clinic in Sumy region, and another attack damaging two kindergartens in Odesa, where energy infrastructure were targeted.
Ukrainian military drones set ablaze a Russian oil refinery in Syzran, Samara region, and a key pipeline in Rostov region.
The strong-arm move from Trump to “pause” US military supplies to Ukraine leaves Zelensky’s defences facing peril because it will stop vital arms such as Patriot air defence missiles.
US President Trump hinted during a press conference on Monday that Zelensky might not survive long as Ukrainian president if he continued to make demands ahead of a peace deal.
‘It should not be that hard a deal to make,’ Trump told reporters at the White House.
‘It could be made very fast. Now, maybe somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, and 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.’
He also slated Europe’s effort to fill the void where the U.S. said it would withdraw support for Ukraine.
Trump accused the UK-led ‘coalition of the willing’ of being weak for relying on an American backstop for peace – after his administration praised the UK for pledging to lift its defence spending.
Trump said following the summit: ‘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 Zelensky, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S.’
With the U.S. increasingly turning away from Europe, the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen said today that Europe was ready to massively boost its defence spending, unveiling a €150 Billion Defense Loan Plan for Pan-European Security and presenting a plan to mobilise €800bn for European defence.
Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz warned in an interview on FOX News Channel’s America’s Newsroom on Monday morning that the days of unlimited support from America to Ukraine were over.
‘The American people’s patience is not unlimited, their wallets are not unlimited and our stockpiles and munitions are not unlimited,’ he said. ‘The time to talk is now.’
Waltz said that Zelensky failed to demonstrate that he was willing to work with the United States and Russia to strike a peace deal to end the war.
‘Success looks like President Zelensky sitting down and talking the terms of peace… what became so evident to us in that session is he’s not ready to talk peace at all but here’s the problem: Time is not on his side,’ he said.
Waltz said it was ‘really confounding’ that Zelensky blew up the meeting and lost an opportunity to work with the American people for the future of his country.
‘I think that President Zelensky truly did his country a real disservice by not having a positive outcome on Friday and we’ll see where things are going forward,’ he concluded.
On Monday, Trump was asked what Zelensky needed to do to resume talks with Washington.
‘Well, I just think you should be more appreciative, because this country has stuck with them through thick and thin,’ he said, before repeating a falsehood about levels of American aid.
He added: ‘We’ve given them much more than Europe, and Europe should have given more than us.’
Trump has been pushing for a rapid deal to end the war in Ukraine ever since he returned to office in January. His administration has held talks with Kyiv on a rare earth minerals deal that would allow Washington to recoup some of its costs.
On Friday, Zelensky visited the White House to discuss the minerals deal, but the meeting ended in disaster, with the Ukrainian president reportedly being asked to leave the Oval Office.
Zelensky grew frustrated during the Oval Office meeting after Vance spoke about the importance of allowing President Trump to engage in diplomacy with Russia.
‘What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about? What do you mean?’ he asked, after listing all of the ways that Putin had broken previous agreements with Ukraine.
‘I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country. Mr. President,’ Vance replied, before accusing Zelensky of being disrespectful to President Trump by trying to voice his opposition to a peace deal in front of the American media.
After the contentious Oval Office meeting, Trump told Zelensky to leave, canceling the planned lunch, and a meeting to sign an mineral deal agreement followed by a press conference to celebrate.
Trump criticized Zelensky for disrespecting the United States in the Oval Office, noting the Ukrainian president did not appear willing to make a peace deal.
‘He can come back when he is ready for Peace,’ Trump wrote on social media.
After the disastrous meeting with Trump, Zelensky made an emergency trip to London where he met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European leaders who emphasized their support for Ukraine.
‘The UK is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air, together with others,’ Starmer said. ‘Europe must do the heavy lifting, but to support peace in our continent and to succeed, this effort must have strong US backing.’
But NATO members appeared to be split following the meeting, while Trump accused the UK-led ‘coalition of the willing’ of being weak for relying on an American backstop for peace.
French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a 30-day end to the fighting – but without any security guarantees for Kyiv.
Britain and other allies gave the plan the cold shoulder, as the UK supports the Ukrainian position which is that any end to the war must be secured by an agreement which Russia will be too scared to break.
European leaders were hoping a common policy on Ukraine would emerge following Sunday’s summit at Lancaster House, with reports of the French diplomatic effort emerging yesterday.
When the plan was put to leaders at Sunday’s meeting, none volunteered their support. But out of respect for French president Mr Macron, nobody spoke against it either.
Concerns remain among allies over the number of troops countries can provide as part of a post-settlement stabilisation force as Trump rejects using the US as a ‘backstop’ to prevent Russia from attacking again.
Trump said following the summit: ‘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 Zelensky, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US.’
He added in what appeared to be an attack on what he appeared to perceive as a weakness of European leaders: ‘Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?’
In media rounds yesterday, Armed Forces minister Luke Pollard warned that any temporary deal would grant Russia an opportunity to rearm and refresh, rather than encouraging Kremlin officials to pause for thought about the three-year conflict.
The French plan would have permitted fighting to continue on the frontline but would have applied to air and sea operations and attacks on civil infrastructure.
French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the limited ceasefire would allow the West to determine whether Russian president Vladimir Putin was acting in good faith.
It would also give an indication as to whether Trump wanted to support a peace deal on Europe’s terms rather than Russia’s.
During Sunday’s summit, Sir Keir Starmer also unveiled a four-point plan to work with Ukraine to end the war and defend the country from Russia.
The PM’s plan would see European states deploy tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine without US troops alongside them. But there would be US air cover and security guarantees as part of a US ‘backstop’ to deter Putin, which Trump previously opposed.
Doubts remained over which states would provide soldiers to serve alongside British and French soldiers. Sir Keir has called for a ‘coalition of the willing’ to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, but only ‘one or two others’ are apparently on board.
No coalition could be a NATO enterprise as two member states, Slovakia and Hungary, would vote to block any deployment of soldiers from the alliance to Ukraine. This is due to their close relationship with Russia.
The Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are expected to make a contribution, despite the small size of their armies.
Italy was also rumoured to be involved, but prime minister Giorgia Meloni said on Monday that ‘we will not send Italian soldiers to Ukraine’.
Meloni said about the British-French plan: ‘I have expressed various doubts about the Franco-British proposal while thanking my colleagues. It is very complex to implement, I am not convinced of its effectiveness.
‘This is the reason why […] we said that we will not send Italian soldiers to Ukraine, but it is certainly a moment in which all those who make proposals are doing something useful in the attempt to find a solution.’
She has previously clashed with French President Emmanuel Macron over the issue of European troop deployments to Ukraine.
Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau has said ‘everything is on the table’, while Poland has ruled itself out of sending soldiers because its borders with Ukraine and Russia’s ally Belarus mean it has to concentrate on its own security issues.
Spain has said it is ‘too early to talk about deploying troops’ while Germany’s situation is complicated by the transition between governments following last month’s elections. Former chancellor Olaf Scholz previously ruled out sending troops.
But his expected successor Friedrich Merz, who has not yet been sworn in, may reverse that policy.