Trump Pauses All U.S. Aid To Ukraine After Oval Office Spat With Zelenskyy
President Donald Trump reportedly halted all assistance to Ukraine on Monday, only days after a tense Oval Office exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy turned into a heated argument over efforts to bring the Russia-Ukraine conflict to a close.
According to a senior Defense Department official, who spoke anonymously to Bloomberg News, the United States will be “pausing all current military aid to Ukraine until Trump determines the country’s leaders demonstrate a good-faith commitment to peace.”
The unnamed source explained that the suspension will cover “all US military equipment not currently in Ukraine,” which includes “weapons in transit on aircraft and ships or waiting in transit areas in Poland.”
At the same time, a senior Trump administration official assured Fox News on Monday that this decision is “not a permanent termination of aid” but rather “a pause,” adding that “the orders for the pause were going out right now.”
The directive follows a direct confrontation on Friday, when Trump and Vice President JD Vance challenged Zelenskyy during a meeting in the Oval Office.
On Monday, Trump further condemned Zelenskyy for his remarks that peace with Russia remained “very far away.” Trump warned the Ukrainian president that the United States would “not put up with it for much longer.”
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump declared. “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. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?”
Trump also floated the idea that Zelenskyy could potentially be removed from his position if necessary.
“I think everybody has to get into a room, so to speak, and we have to make a deal, and the deal can be made very fast,” Trump said. “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.”
During an interview with Jesse Watters on Fox News, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller harshly criticized Zelenskyy for his conduct.
“I don’t think anybody had any idea that Zelenskyy would be so impertinent, so disrespectful, so insulting to the United States of America,” Miller said.
“Look, this is one of the great moments in the history of American diplomacy, the way that President Trump and JD Vance stood up for American interests in the world stage, the way that President Trump defended Americans after years of being fleeced and abused and taken advantage of and taken for granted, millions of American hearts swelled with overflowing pride today to watch President Trump put Zelenskyy in his place,” he continued.
“The only reason that Zelenskyy has a country, that Zelenskyy is in power is because the United States, Americans have suffered economically funding this war now for years. American security has been degraded, our stockpiles depleted, our ability to project power in other regions of the world negatively affected to protect and defend Ukraine,” Miller explained.
“Americans probably don’t even know the true extent of just how much military support on multiple levels and fronts America has provided to Ukraine, and then this man shows up in the Oval Office and lectures us, says we have to do more, says we’re not as good as Europe, says that we need to provide them a forever war guarantee, fight Russia till the end of time,” Miller added.
“No American watching that today says they want to send their sons and daughters to die on behalf of Zelenskyy, and President Trump was clear and firm and principled saying either you’re our partner for peace in ending this war, or we can’t work with you,” he concluded.