President Donald Trump ordered a halt on all U.S. military aid to Ukraine after a contentious meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
A U.S. defense official confirmed the decision to the Washington Examiner.
Senior U.S. officials speaking with outlets including the Associated Press and Bloomberg confirmed that the halt in aid would begin immediately. The official speaking with the former said that the U.S. was “pausing and reviewing” its aid to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”
A senior Defense Department official speaking with the latter said the halt in aid includes a freezing of equipment currently in transit on aircraft and ships or waiting in transit areas in Poland. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was ordered to carry out the pause.
The official said the pause would remain in place until Trump determines that Zelensky and the country's leaders have demonstrated a good-faith commitment to peace.
In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump was the "only leader in the world right now who even has a chance at bringing an enduring and lasting end to the war in Ukraine."
"We want to get the Russians to a negotiating table. We want to explore whether peace is possible," he said.
Denouncements from Trump's critics came quickly.
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), co-chairman of the congressional EU Caucus, denounced the pause as “reckless, indefensible, and a direct threat to our national security.”
“This aid was approved by Congress on a bipartisan basis—Republicans and Democrats alike recognized that standing with Ukraine is standing for democracy and against Putin’s aggression,” he said in a statement. “Yet, Trump, who has repeatedly praised Putin and undermined our allies, is now playing political games with critical military assistance.”
On Friday, what was supposed to be a cordial meeting between Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Zelensky was suddenly upended after about 40 minutes, with the three exchanging verbal barbs. Trump canceled the planned mineral deal signing ceremony that was supposed to increase U.S. interests in Ukraine and sent Zelensky away.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron tried to restore relations between Trump and Zelensky. A conference between Zelensky and European leaders in London ended in the leaders insisting that any security guarantee needed American backing, which Trump indicated was off the table.
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Trump condemned Zelensky again on Monday in a post on Truth Social after the Ukrainian president said that the end of the war with Russia was "very, very far away."
"This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer! It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelensky, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. — Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?" he wrote.