Trump pauses aid to Ukraine

mounts pressure on Ukraine on peace negotiations

On Monday, US President Donald Trump suspended military aid to Ukraine.

This is according to a White House official statement.

This action is believed to be a move to put more pressure on Kyiv to agree to peace negotiations with Russia.

This comes just days after a surprising public verbal clash between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and PresidentTrump, who is seeking a rapid end to the war.

When he was asked by reporters on Monday, Trump had declined to rule out a pause to aid Ukraine.

But any disruption in the flow of US arms to the front line, analysts say, would rapidly weaken Ukraine’s chance of beating back Russia’s invasion.

Speaking to a French International News agency AFP, on condition of anonymity, A White House official said the President had been clear that he is focused on peace and their partners needed to be committed to that goal as well.

The official added that the idea of pausing and reviewing their aid was to ensure that it was contributing to a solution.

Congressional Democrats immediately condemned the pause as dangerous and illegal.

A top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee was quoted to have said,
“My Republican colleagues who have called Putin a war criminal and promised their continued support to Ukraine must join me in demanding President Trump immediately lift this disastrous and unlawful freeze.”

Trump also warned he would not tolerate much longer with Zelensky’s defiance, and said Ukraine’s leader should be more appreciative of US support.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said Zelensky won’t be around very long without a ceasefire deal with Moscow.

The New York Times reported that the pause has gone into effect immediately and impacts hundreds of millions of dollars of weaponry in the process of being sent to Ukraine.

On his part, Zelensky had on Monday said he was seeking for the war to end as soon as possible.

The comment came after Zelensky accused Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2014 and greatly expanded the conflict in 2022, of not being serious about peace.

The Ukranian President insisted that tough security guarantees were the only way to end the war.

But Trump’s stance has overturned US support for Ukraine, and Washington’s allies more broadly, and stoked concern about Washington pivoting to Russia.

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook