President Trump temporarily suspended the delivery of all US military aid to Ukraine, senior officials and military officials reported, just days after Mr Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine had a fight.
The order affects more than $ 1 billion in weapons and ammunition in conduct and custom. It emerged from a series of meetings at the White House on Monday between Mr Trump and senior national security assistants, officials said, speaking about the condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions.
Officials said the directive would enter into force until Mr Trump found that Ukraine had proven a commitment of good faith in peace negotiations with Russia.
Mr Trump’s decision dramatically escalates the violation of Washington and Kiev at a critical moment of the conflict. The most immediate beneficiary of the movement is President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. If the post is long, it can use the time to push for further territorial profits. And he may decide to keep behind any negotiations at all, believing that any prolonged dispute between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky will only strengthen his position, either on the battlefield or when a cease talks are ever held.
Mr Trump’s move has a few direct precedent in recent American history. While the United States has stopped transporting specific weapons systems to allies and partners, such as President Joseph R. Biden Jr. To suspend the deliveries of 2,000 -pound bombers in Israel who were afraid of being used against civilians in Gaza, a complete cut is essentially a ultimatum. He forces Mr Zelensky to agree with the ceasefire on terms, Mr Trump dictates or condemns the country to greater battlefield losses.
The suspension also puts the United States in direct contrast to NATO’s great allies. Most of the largest European nations, led by France, Britain and Germany, have pledged to reinforce the support in Ukraine in recent days, with Mr Zelensky in his conflict with Trump’s administration. But they just don’t have the stocks to cover the difference in the short term.
Mr Trump’s directive, which was mentioned earlier than Bloomberg News, also stops the traditions of equipment from Pentagon’s stocks as aid through the Ukrainian security assistance initiative, which provides funds that Kiev can only use to buy new military material from US. It was not clear exactly what Mr Zelensky should do for Mr Trump to repeat military assistance.
Mr Trump has increasingly aligned with Mr Putin and his narrative of the war in Ukraine. He falsely claimed that it was Ukraine who started the war and called Mr Zelensky, who was democratically elected, a “dictator”.
He has called Mr Putin “smart” and “sly”, but refused to call him a dictator. And Mr Trump has spoken in recent days about how he and Mr Putin have been linked to the joint test of the research on Moscow’s efforts to lean the election eight years ago to Mr Trump. US intelligence officials concluded that Mr Putin’s intelligence services were actively working to move the 2016 election with Mr Trump’s favor, a conclusion that Mr Trump rejected and called part of the “Russian Sea”.
Tensions between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky exploded on Friday on Friday, when the two men had to sign a White House for Ukraine to turn rare fossil rights to repay US military aid over the past three years. Instead, Mr Trump and Vice President JD Vance violated Mr Zelensky in front of the cameras so that they would not be grateful for us.
The fate of the mineral agreement remained unclear.
Mr Trump said on Monday that he did not believe that the mineral agreement was dead, calling it “big for us”, but that there was one thing that had to see from Mr Zelensky to resume the negotiations.
“I think they should be more thankful,” Mr Trump told reporters.
Earlier on the day, Mr Trump came up with the comments that Mr Zelensky made the weekend when he predicted that a peace deal with Russia was “still far, far away”.
“This is the worst statement that could be made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put it for much more!” Mr Trump wrote in the social media.
On Monday, many members of Mr Trump’s Council of Ministers continued to participate with allies, suggesting that Mr Zelensky was responsible for the diplomatic distribution and would have to show remorse for the episode of Oval Office.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an interview with CNN on Monday that it was “too far” for Mr Zelensky to request, as part of any agreement, “compensation” and the return of the seized land from Russia and security guarantees.
“You have to say,” We love America, we appreciate America, we want you next to us and if you think we have to have peace, we should have peace, “Mr Lutnick said.
“This is not a peacemaker,” Mr Lutnick said of Mr Zelensky, “this is a rioter.”
Mr Lutnick suggested that Mr Trump was still committed to mediation in an agreement between Ukraine and Russia and “beat both sides to take them to the table”.
Following the Oval Office meeting, Trump’s administration immediately began to discuss the cut or reduction of military aid, training and possibly supporting military intelligence for Ukraine, a senior official said on Friday. It was not clear late on Monday if Mr Trump also called on officials to limit the exchange of information, though a senior official said he was still flowing – for now.
Mr Trump convened a meeting of members of his national security team on Monday to discuss administration choices.
The decision comes at a critical moment in the Ukrainian war against Russian aggression and, as Mr Trump, has made it clear in recent weeks that Moscow isolation days are over.
Through its own weapons production and weapons deliveries from Europe, Ukraine could withstand US interruption for a few weeks, even a few months, US officials and analysts said on Monday.
“The reality is that Ukraine is much less dependent on the United States for its daily battles than a year ago,” said Michael Kofman, a senior associate of Carnegie Endowment for international peace, who has visited Ukraine several times before.
But if the surrender of traditions have gone more, Ukraine will lose the supply of certain advanced weapons, including advanced air-defense systems, ballistic surface missiles and surface artillery and large-scale artillery. The United States also provides Ukraine with components, maintenance and technical support.
Mr Zelensky said that the cut of military aid would be a devastating blow, but would not end the battles.
“Ukraine’s defense capacity and security is now about 30 %now,” he said during an interview last month. “You can imagine what will happen to us without this critical 30 %.”
US military aid stopped flowing to Ukraine for several months last year, after Mr Trump pressed his Republican allies in Congress to withhold the help.
The results were initially noticeable in the night air bombings that Russia turned to energy infrastructure across the country. With the launch of US air defense systems licenses, air defense teams could do little to defend Russia’s most sophisticated missiles as they wasting the nation’s heat stations.
As the aid delayed month after the month, subway stations in the capital were full of families seeking refuge as a protective blanket provided by US patriotic batteries began to peel off.
The impact on the front took more time to make it noticeable. But as supplies were reduced and Americans built by the American fell silent, Ukrainian commanders struggling in the area said they had to force the ammunition.
Adam contributed references from Washington and Marc santora From Kiev, Ukraine.
