President Donald Trump directed his administration to “pause” army assist to Ukraine after the contentious Oval Workplace assembly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Feb. 28, two White Home officers advised ABC Information.
A White Home official stated Trump has been clear that he’s centered on peace and added, “We want our companions to be dedicated to that objective as effectively. We’re pausing and reviewing our assist to make sure that it’s contributing to an answer.”
President Donald Trump speaks within the Roosevelt Room of the White Home in Washington, Mar. 3, 2025.
Leah Millis/Reuters
The transfer got here hours after Trump told ABC News that Zelenskyy wanted to be “extra appreciative.”
Senior Politics Correspondent Rachel Scott requested Trump on Tuesday: “What do you might want to see from President Zelenskyy to restart these negotiations?”
“Effectively, I simply assume he ought to be extra appreciative as a result of this nation has caught with them by means of thick and skinny,” the president responded.
It is troublesome to know precisely how the pause may affect the circulate of beforehand granted assist.
In the previous couple of months of former President Joe Biden’s administration, it introduced 4 Presidential Drawdown Authority packages to Ukraine.
The packages totaled $3 billion in weapons from the Pentagon’s stock, they usually have been meant to be offered to Ukraine as rapidly as potential following the bulletins in December and January.
About 90% of arms dedicated to Ukraine by previous PDA packages have already been delivered to the nation, in keeping with two U.S. officers accustomed to the matter.
That features the overwhelming majority of crucial munitions and anti-armor programs, they are saying, including that many of the what’s left to undergo the pipeline are armored autos that take longer to refurbish, with all PDA gear beforehand on observe for supply by August 2025.
Nonetheless, a gradual circulate of arms remains to be set to maneuver from the U.S. to Ukraine for no less than the subsequent a number of years due contracts Kyiv signed with personal American corporations for newly produced weapons. Many if not most of these contracts have been paid.
The Trump administration may nonetheless try and disrupt these shipments by means of the usage of emergency authorities, however there’s no indication it’s making an attempt to do this at current.
Moreover, there may be nonetheless an opportunity for negotiations to renew between the U.S. and Ukraine, as Vice President JD Vance implied throughout an look on Fox Information’ “Hannity” on Monday.
Vance was requested if the administration would welcome Zelenskyy again if he have been prepared to return again to the negotiating desk. Vance stated sure — if Zelenskyy have been prepared to “have interaction critically.”
“I believe that if he referred to as and had a severe proposal for the way he was going to have interaction within the course of — look, there are particulars that actually matter, that we’re already engaged on with the Russians,” Vance stated.
“He wants to have interaction critically on the small print,” he added, although it was unclear if he was strictly referring to the uncooked minerals deal that the U.S. is pursuing with Ukraine, land concessions or different particulars that could be impacting negotiations.
“I believe as soon as that occurs, then completely, we need to speak,” the vice chairman stated.
Additionally in dispute is the quantity of assist that the U.S. has already given Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly claimed, inaccurately, that the United States has spent some $350 billion towards Ukraine, whereas other sources put the determine effectively beneath $200 billion, together with bilateral assist.
ABC Information’ Shannon Kingston, Luis Martinez and T. Michelle Murphy contributed to this report.
