President Donald Trump has placed a pause on aid to Ukraine, the White House announced late Monday.
“The President has been clear that he is focused on peace,” a senior administration official told VOA in an email. The official is not being named, as is customary when engaging with reporters. “We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Monday that his country needs “real, fair peace,” as well as security guarantees to ensure Russia does threaten Ukraine again in the future.
“It was precisely the lack of security guarantees for Ukraine 11 years ago that allowed Russia to start with the occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbas,” Zelenskyy said. “Then, the absence of security guarantees allowed Russia to launch the full-scale invasion. And now, because there are still no defined security guarantees, it is Russia that is keeping this war going.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday that the U.S. pausing military aid to Ukraine is the best contribution to the cause of peace, and that it could help push Ukraine to engage in a peace process.
Trump was pointed in saying Monday that a deal for rare earth minerals was key to continued U.S. support of Ukraine, and said he would make an announcement on the matter Tuesday when he speaks before a joint session of Congress.
There was fallout on both sides of the Atlantic Monday amid mounting European concerns about Ukraine’s future, as European leaders scrambled after Trump’s contentious Friday exchange with Zelenskyy. That Oval Office blow-up ended a minerals deal that Trump argued was key for continuing U.S. support for Ukraine.
Trump has pushed to end the fighting, but Zelenskyy has expressed fears that Trump is attempting to settle the conflict on terms more favorable to Moscow than Kyiv.
On Monday, the business-minded president hammered his increasingly blunt point: If Ukraine wants to survive, Zelenskyy needs to make a deal.
“It can be made very fast,” Trump said. “Now, maybe somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, and 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, because I believe that Russia wants to make a deal. I believe certainly the people of Ukraine want to make a deal. They’ve suffered more than anybody else.”
Earlier in the day in a social media posting, Trump derided Zelenskyy’s assessment that the end of Russia’s war with his country “is still very, very far away,” calling that “the worst statement.”
“America will not put up with it for much longer!” he added.
Analysts say they understand where Trump lands on major issues like Ukraine’s future membership in NATO and the prospect of U.S. troops on the ground — both hard nos from Trump.
But on this economic deal, they say, they can’t predict the president’s next move.
Even before Zelenskyy landed in Washington, the deal was painted in broad strokes. It was meant to allow U.S. investment in rare-earth mineral exploration in exchange for reinvestment.
But Zelenskyy had insisted on the need for U.S. security guarantees, which were not in the original draft.
“It’s still unclear what Trump’s plan really is,” Anna Borshchevskaya, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told VOA in a Zoom interview. “What we can also see what has emerged over the weekend is that Europe is stepping up to do more to deter Russia.”
After the White House meeting fell apart, Zelenskyy flew across the Atlantic to meet with European allies. He was warmly greeted by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
At Westminster on Monday, Starmer reiterated Britain’s offer of peacekeepers and announced $2 billion for 5,000 air defense missiles for Ukraine. He echoed the narrative that former President Joe Biden used to justify U.S. support — that the Belfast-made products would feed back into the British economy.
“Britain will play a leading role with, if necessary, and together with others, boots on the ground and planes in the air,” he said, speaking to Parliament. “Mr. Speaker, it is right that Europe do the heavy lifting to support peace on our continent. But to succeed, this effort must also have strong U.S. backing.”
European Union leaders are set to gather Thursday in Brussels to discuss EU support for Ukraine and bolstering Europe’s defenses.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday that “Europe is ready to assume its responsibilities” as she discussed a five-point plan that she said could mobilize nearly $840 million in defense spending by EU members.
Von der Leyen said the proposal included providing about $158 billion in loans to member states to coordinate joint defense procurement, including being able to more quickly provide aid to Ukrainian forces.
