United States President Donald Trump has suspended, with immediate effect, the delivery of all American military aid to Ukraine, affecting over $1 billion in arms and ammunition. The decision follows a series of meetings at the White House between Trump and his senior national security aides, a senior administration official said on Monday.
According to the official, the order will remain in effect until Trump determines that Ukraine has demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia. The suspension includes hundreds of millions of dollars allocated through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which funds Kyiv’s purchase of military hardware directly from US defence companies.
The US State Department states that Washington has provided $65.9 billion in military assistance since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Since Russia’s initial invasion in 2014, the total US military aid to Ukraine amounts to approximately $69.2 billion.
The move comes days after an intense exchange between Trump, Vice President J D Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a White House visit. The meeting, which was intended to finalise a rare mineral deal between the two nations, turned into a heated confrontation in front of global media.
During a press conference lasting about 50 minutes, Vance addressed Zelenskyy, saying, “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media. … you should be thanking the president for trying to bring you into this conference.”
Trump then told Zelenskyy, “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War Three. You’re gambling with World War Three, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should.”
Trump and Vance also criticised Zelenskyy for not expressing sufficient gratitude for US support.
Following the incident, European and global leaders expressed support for Ukraine on social media platform X. Zelenskyy responded with a uniform message: “Thank you for your support.”
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