President Donald Trump paused all military aid to Ukraine on Monday, according to multiple outlets, just days after he had a disastrous Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European countries announced additional support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 28, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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Key Takeaways
- Trump ordered a pause on all military aid designated for Ukraine amid its war with Russia, Bloomberg first reported, citing an unnamed senior Defense Department official who said the pause would last until Ukraine’s leaders “demonstrate a good-faith commitment to peace.”
- An unnamed White House official told the Associated Press the U.S. was “pausing and reviewing” aid to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”
- An unnamed administration official earlier told The New York Times Trump and his advisers would on Monday discuss “suspending or canceling U.S. military aid to Ukraine,” along with the potential to reduce “intelligence sharing and training for Ukrainian troops and pilots.”
- Axios also reported the meeting would take place Monday afternoon, with a suspension of military aid on the table, and unnamed sources told the outlet Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Mike Waltz were expected to attend.
- U.S. military aid to Ukraine has topped $60 billion since Russia invaded in 2022.
- Zelenskyy and Trump—who has been openly critical of the amount of aid former President Joe Biden sent Ukraine and has pressed Ukraine and Russia to reach a deal—met in the Oval Office on Friday with Vance, and the meeting turned into a shouting match in which Trump and Vance accused Zelenskyy of not being grateful for the U.S.’s contributions in its war with Russia.
- The White House did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment on the paused aid.
Surprising Fact
Hegseth directed the U.S. Cyber Command to stop offensive operations against Russia in an effort to bring them into talks about ending the Ukraine war, The New York Times reported. The Times reported the scope and duration of the order was unclear, but that the decision was made prior to the blowup between Zelenskyy and Trump in the Oval Office on Friday.
What Has Trump Said Since The Meeting?
Trump said on social media after the meeting that Zelenskyy “disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office” and can return when he is ready to talk about peace. Trump has pushed back on the notion that his comments to Zelenskyy supported Russian President Vladimir Putin, though, saying on Truth Social Sunday night and Monday morning saying he is “the only president who gave none of Ukraine’s land to Putin’s Russia” and that the U.S. should “spend less time worrying about Putin, and more time” worrying about an influx of undocumented immigrants. Most recently around 11:30 a.m. EST Monday, Trump said Zelenskyy saying the end of the war is “very, very far away,” was “the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!”
What Has Zelenskyy Said Since The Meeting?
Zelenskyy appeared on Fox News hours after the shouting match in the Oval Office and discussed the situation with Bret Baier. When Baier asked if Zelenskyy should apologize for the earlier tense meeting, Zelenskyy said he was “not sure that we did something bad,” but the meeting was “not good for both sides.” In the interview Zelenskyy also said he thought he could mend the relationship with Trump and he remained optimistic that Ukraine could win the war against Russia. On Saturday, Zelenskyy took to X to reiterate gratitude to the U.S. for its support and said, “It’s crucial for us to have President Trump’s support,” adding in the thread he is ready to sign the minerals deal with the U.S. that brought him to Washington, D.C., in the first place, but that he wants “the U.S. to stand more firmly on our side.”
Key Background
The conversation between Zelenskyy and Trump in the White House on Friday was supposed to be about a new partnership between the U.S. and Ukraine in which Ukraine would put some proceeds from its state-owned mineral resources to a jointly owned fund with the U.S., in part as a way to pay the U.S. back for its support during the war. But Zelenskyy left the White House early after the Oval Office meeting and did not sign the minerals deal, though he later said he was still prepared to. Trump repeatedly said in the meeting Ukraine and Zelenskyy “don’t have the cards” to defeat Russia unless the U.S. is aiding them, and Vance criticized Zelenskyy for attempting “to litigate this in front of the American media.” The conversation between the leaders sparked concern from Democrats who accused Trump of acting in Russia’s interest, including Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who suggested Trump and Vance were doing “Putin’s dirty work” and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., who said the conversation was ““a gift to Putin,” adding: “this makes us look weak, and it’s not normal behavior.”
Tangent
On Sunday, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the UK, France and other European countries were increasing their efforts to end the Ukraine-Russia war by gathering a “coalition of the willing” to work toward peace for Ukraine. Starmer said Europe needs to “do the heavy lifting,” but the agreement will need U.S. backing and Russia’s involvement. Starmer reportedly said he agrees with Trump on “the urgent need for durable peace” and he declined to call the U.S. an “unreliable ally,” the BBC reported.
Big Number
51%. That’s the percentage of respondents in a CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday—and conducted from Feb. 26 to Feb. 28—that felt the U.S. should send weapons and military aid to Ukraine.
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