The Trump administration has paused U.S. military aid to Ukraine, the White House confirmed to CBS News on Monday. It’s the latest fallout days after a contentious meeting between President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House that erupted into an open dispute in front of TV cameras.
“The president has been clear that he is focused on peace,” a White House official told CBS News. “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 U.S. has been a key supplier of weapons for Ukraine as it continues to fend off the invasion launched by Russia three years ago. But Mr. Trump’s return to office has brought a marked shift in U.S. policy toward the conflict, which the president has vowed to bring to an end.
Friday’s meeting, which was meant to precede the signing of a mineral agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine, devolved into a series of insults and confrontations.
Mr. Trump told Zelenskyy to come to a ceasefire agreement with Russia or “we’re out,” and Vance accused the Ukrainian president of being “disrespectful” after he challenged the vice president’s assertion that the war has gone on so long because of a lack of diplomacy from Ukraine and the Biden administration. The meeting was cut short without the mineral deal being signed, with several White House officials telling CBS News that the future of military aid for Ukraine was in doubt.
Since Mr. Trump took office in January, $3.85 billion left in drawdown authority for weaponry that can be pulled from existing U.S. stockpiles and sent to Ukraine has been available, U.S. officials previously told CBS News. The Trump administration hasn’t packaged any of that aid for a single shipment since January 21, a diplomatic source told CBS News on Monday. There have been shipments of weapons sent to Ukraine since Jan. 20 that were promised by the Biden administration in earlier drawdowns, according to Defense officials.
The $3.85 billion is spending authority, not appropriated money, meaning it’s up to the White House, not Congress, to determine whether to release it. It is also not considered “real money,” meaning it cannot be spent elsewhere.
Separately, the State Department also has about $1.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing for Ukraine that is under a policy review by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The State Department under the Trump administration has only given Egypt and Israel waivers for FMF assistance.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Eleanor Watson,
Jennifer Jacobs,
Margaret Brennan and
contributed to this report.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administration-pauses-u-s-military-aid-to-ukraine/
