President Trump pauses federal aid to Ukraine
World leaders are reacting to President Donald Trump’s decision to pause federal aid to Ukraine.
WASHINGTON ‒ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he’s ready to work with President Donald Trump to negotiate a peace deal with Russia ‒ effectively ending a standoff between the leaders that exploded Monday evening when the U.S. said it would stop supplying the country with weapons.
Zelenskyy said in a social media post that it is “time to make things right” with the American president and his administration. He expressed gratitude for prior U.S. support for Ukraine in its battle to beat back Russia’s military forces and praised Trump, whom he fought with last Friday in the Oval Office.
“None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts,” Zelenskyy said Tuesday, describing their previous encounter as “regrettable.”
The Trump administration said the evening before that it was pausing military assistance to Ukraine, delivering a major blow to Kyiv’s ability to defend itself against Russia.
Trump’s team had been in discussions with Russia and Ukraine about a peace agreement. But talks with Ukraine went sideways last week when Zelenskyy, Trump and Vice President JD Vance got into an Oval Office shouting match about Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy left the White House without signing a minerals agreement that the U.S. says would protect Ukraine against future Russian aggression by linking the countries’ economic interests after the war ends. The Ukrainian president came to the White House seeking immediate security guarantees from the United States and clarity on whether Trump intended to continue arming Ukraine.
Trump said after the Oval Office fight that he did not want to speak to Zelenskyy again until the leader was ready to discuss a peace agreement on his terms. He suggested then that the future of U.S. aid to Ukraine was was in doubt.
Trump allies had pushed Zelenskyy to apologize or resign over the Oval Office spat.
“Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday on “Meet the Press.”
The argument culminated in the suspension of weapons deliveries on Monday night ‒ the most aggressive push from the U.S. yet to get the Ukrainian government to participate in speedy talks.
Europe has looked for ways in the aftermath to close the gap. The European Union on Tuesday announce a proposal to spend the equivalent of $840 billion on defense.
Zelenskyy meanwhile moved to reconcile with Trump, saying on Tuesday in his social media post that he was ready to “work fast to end the war” and sign the minerals agreement with the U.S.
“Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive,” he said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zelenskyy said a ceasefire could involve the release of prisoners, bans on missiles and long-range drones and the cessation of attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure. He said Ukraine was also willing to halt fighting in the Black Sea if Russia was willing to do the same.
“Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal,” Zelenskyy said.