Donald Trump suspended all military aid after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, White House officials said Monday.
“[The] The president is well aware that he is focused on peace. We also need our partners to work on this goal. We are suspending and reviewing our assistance to ensure it contributes to the solutions. ” said the official on condition of anonymity.
Zelenskyy’s office did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment outside office hours.
Other major news organizations, including the Associated Press, BBC News and CBS News, also reported on the suspension of news.
The move comes as Trump took a more reconciliational position on U.S. policies to Ukraine and Russia when he took office in January and criticized his support for Washington in the war with Russia after an explosive confrontation with Zelenskyy on Friday at the White House.
Trump also urged Ukraine to agree to bring the United States into minerals, a form of what Trump calls “equal” in aid. Ukraine has not signed any such arrangements so far.
Under former U.S. President Joe Biden, Washington has been a strong supporter of Ukraine’s fight against Russian invasion.
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “had no apology after the confrontation of the White House of the U.S. president, but said the “free world” must “do everything to get Americans back on track” if it wants to win with the dictator. “We need them, they need us,” he said. ”
When Biden took office, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Since then, Ukraine and its neighbors have been trapped in a full-scale war.
The war killed thousands of civilians in Ukraine, and Zelensky said last month that his more than 45,000 soldiers were killed.
But Ukraine also brought the war to Russia, strikes and a small part of the Kursk region on the Russian side of the Russian border.
Trump had previously claimed that he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours. However, during the six weeks of presidency, the war remained fierce.
