According to a White House official on Monday (March 3, 2025), after his disagreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, U.S. President Donald Trump has suspended all military assistance to Ukraine.
“The President has consistently expressed his commitment to promoting peace.” It is imperative that our collaborators are equally dedicated to this objective. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, stated, “We are temporarily suspending and reevaluating our assistance to guarantee that it is contributing to a resolution.”
A Reuters request for comment outside of office hours was not promptly responded to by Mr. Zelenskyy’s office.
Following an explosive confrontation with Mr. Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday, in which Trump criticised him for being insufficiently grateful for Washington’s support in the war with Russia, Mr. Trump upended U.S. policy on Ukraine and Russia since assuming office in January. He has since adopted a more conciliatory stance towards Moscow.
Mr. Trump reiterated on Monday (March 3, 2025) that Mr. Zelenskyy should be more grateful for American support, following his previous angry response to an Associated Press report that quoted him as stating that the end of the conflict is “very, very far away.”
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Mr. Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump utilised an alternative pronunciation of the Ukrainian leader’s name in his post on Truth Social.
However, Mr. Trump also posited on Monday (March 3, 2025) that a deal to open up Ukraine’s minerals to U.S. investment could still be reached, despite his frustration with Kyiv. This was in response to European leaders’ proposals for a truce in Russia’s conflict with its neighbour.
The Trump administration is considering a minerals agreement as a means of recouping a portion of the tens of billions of dollars in financial and military aid that the United States has provided to Ukraine since the Russian invasion three years ago.
On Monday, when asked whether the agreement was dead, Mr. Trump responded at the White House, “I don’t believe so.”
Mr. Trump characterised it as a “great deal for us” and stated that he would provide an update on the situation during his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
