Trump has stopped all military aid to Ukraine

A senior Defense Department official said the U.S. is halting all current military aid to Ukraine until Trump decides that the country's leaders demonstrate a good-faith commitment to peace, Bloomberg reported.

The official said all U.S. military equipment that is not currently in Ukraine will be suspended. In particular, weapons that are in transit on planes and ships, or that are waiting in transit zones in Poland. According to the interlocutor, the pause was ordered by Trump to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.

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Trump has been pushing for a quick deal to end the war, which has been going on for three years. But when Zelensky demanded security assurances in the Oval Office last week that Russian Federation would not violate the agreements, Trump angrily told him to come back when he was ready for peace.

That in turn has forced European allies to rush through plans to supply Ukraine with weapons as well as peacekeepers as part of the agreement. However, Europe lacks many of the other weapons and capabilities that the U.S. is now providing. Allied officials have said the arms deliveries will likely only last until the summer.

It is not yet clear to what extent Trump's executive order will affect the amount of aid. He took office as head of state with $3.85 billion of money left over from the previous administration in the form of so-called presidential authority to reduce U.S. stockpiles. It's unclear at this point whether the Trump administration will actually use the money for Ukraine, especially since the U.S. weapons stockpile is running low and needs to be replenished.

Monday's decision goes beyond simply cutting off funding, but jeopardizes aid that is already being delivered or executed. That includes the delivery of critical ammunition, hundreds of guided multiple rocket launchers and anti-tank weapons and other capabilities. Terminating existing contracts with industry could also require the U.S. to pay some form of break fee to companies that have begun fulfilling orders.

The U.S. and Ukraine were supposed to sign an agreement that would have allowed the U.S. to receive a significant share of future revenues from the extraction of Ukraine's natural resources, but the agreement appears to have fallen apart after Friday's meeting.

The White House, meanwhile, confirmed the cancelation of military aid shipments to Ukraine, CNN reports.

“The President has made it 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 assistance to make sure it is contributing to a solution,” a White House official said.

Another official said the pause would apply to all military equipment not already in Ukraine.

The pause is a direct response to what Trump considers Zelensky's bad behavior last week, the official said. They noted that the pause could be lifted if Zelensky shows a renewed commitment to negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine.

Photo: OP.

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