By Samantha Waldenberg, Oren Liebermann and Kevin Liptak, CNN
US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, February 28, 2025. Photo: SAUL LOEB
President Donald Trump is ordering military aid to Ukraine to be paused after his Friday Oval Office argument with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a White House official told CNN Monday.
"The president has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution," the White House official said.
Another official said the pause will apply to all military equipment not yet inside Ukraine.
The pause is a direct response to what Trump views as Zelensky's bad behaviour last week, the official said. They noted that a pause could be lifted if Zelensky demonstrates new commitment to negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
The White House made the decision to pause military aid to Ukraine for now as officials seek an acknowledgement from Zelensky about the breakdown in relations following Friday's blow-up in the Oval Office.
According to several officials, Trump and his senior aides are seeking an acknowledgement from Zelensky - potentially in the form of a public apology - before moving ahead with the minerals deal, which had been close to agreement before Friday's meeting, or a discussion on continuing foreign aid. The decision to halt the aid was made later on Monday, one person said, and is part of a pressure strategy on Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly called for Zelensky to apologise for Friday in an interview on CNN.
In recent weeks, Trump has echoed Russian President Vladimir Putin's talking points, falsely claiming Ukraine started the war and accusing Zelensky of being a dictator, but his decision to halt the delivery of military aid is a move that could have real consequences for the balance of the conflict and help Putin's forces.
The halt also puts Trump even more clearly at odds with the United States' traditional European allies like Britain and France, who made clear their support for Zelensky at a summit in London on Sunday.
An American official familiar with the matter said it would take some time - perhaps several days or weeks - for the impact to be felt among Ukraine's battlefield fighters. But once the country's current stocks begin running short, the effect would be severe, even if other nations rush to fill the gap.
"There is a capability gap that Europe cannot fill alone," the official said.
Since the start of the war, the Biden administration announced 74 separate packages of military aid pulled directly from US inventories, allowing the critical munitions and supplies to flow quickly to Ukraine. The largest of these packages was nearly $3 billion, though most were far smaller. Zelensky has repeatedly thanked the US for the weapons on social media, as well as in calls and meetings with American officials.
The pause comes one day after a defense official told CNN that military aid to Ukraine announced by the Biden administration was still flowing. Those shipments included critical munitions such as anti-tank weapons, thousands of artillery rounds, and rockets. Those shipments were expected to continue for several weeks, but the decision from the Trump administration freezes the aid that was en route.
"DoD is also providing other capabilities, such as armoured vehicles, as soon as required repairs are completed," the defense official said on Sunday. The US had set up facilities in Poland to repair Western equipment damaged on the battlefield before sending it back to the Ukrainian military.
There are also multiple longer-term contracts between arms manufacturers and the US to send weapons systems and air defense systems to Ukraine.
Republicans in Congress, where the party holds majorities in both chambers, have been split on continuing aid to Ukraine amid its three-year war with Russia.
Earlier Monday, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Trump ally, said he thought the US obligation to Ukraine only goes "so far," saying, "the American taxpayers are tired of funding this war, and there's no end in sight."
"I don't believe that any of us sitting here believes that Ukraine can win this war, and the president is saying, 'Let's bring an end to it,'" the Oklahoma Republican continued, adding that if Zelensky wants the US to continue negotiating peace, "then we will."
However, he warned if Zelensky "doesn't want to negotiate peace, then it's not our job to make the taxpayers continue to fund an endless war."
GOP Sen. Susan Collins, however, denounced the pause on Monday night, arguing that the US needs to continue backing its ally.
"This is a critical time for Ukraine. And I managed the Ukraine supplemental last year that provided additional help to Ukraine, and I do not think we should be pausing our efforts. It's the Ukrainians who are shedding blood," the Maine Republican said.
Collins acknowledged that Congress may not be able to do anything to ensure Ukraine continues to receive aid from the US.
"A lot of it is linked to the president's drawdown authority," she noted, pointing to accusations during former President Joe Biden's term that he had "slow walked" aid.
"Unfortunately, we've seen this movie before, and I remain convinced that it's not only in Ukraine's interest but our interest to back Ukraine because Putin is not going to stop there," she said.
House Foreign Affairs Chair Republican Rep. Brian Mast told CNN he knew it was an option for the Trump administration to pause all US military aid to Ukraine.
"I knew it was an option," Mast told CNN. "I think people can assume that everything is on the table with Ukraine right now."
CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Morgan Rimmer, Annie Grayer, Ali Main, Manu Raju and Sarah Davis contributed to this report.
- CNN
