A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the New York Times that the US was ‘pausing and reviewing’ its aid to ‘ensure that it is contributing to a solution’.
The source said that Trump is focused on reaching a peace deal to end the more than three-year war sparked by Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, and wants Zelensky ‘committed’ to that goal.
A second official also 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.
This comes after Trump appeared to have lost his patience with Zelensky, warning that ‘America will not put up with it for much longer’ following the Ukrainian president’s comments that the end of the war is ‘still 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,’ 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’.
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.
