'Trump pushing Ukraine to surrender': Kyiv official on US freezing all military aid

1. 'Trump pushing Ukraine to surrender': Kyiv official on US freezing all military aid

Trump pushing Ukraine to surrender': Kyiv official on US freezing all military aid ByHT News Desk Mar 04, 2025 03:17 PM IST Share Via Copy Link Ukraine condemns Trump's decision to pause military aid, warning it could lead to capitulation to Russia. The suspension has raised concern among Kyiv's allies.

The Ukrainian government has strongly condemned US President Donald Trump’s decision to pause military aid to Ukraine, with a top official warning that the move could push Kyiv toward capitulation to Russia.

A view shows the site of a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine.(REUTERS)

“The aid freeze looks really bad. It looks like he is pushing Kyiv towards capitulation,” the chair of Ukraine’s Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee told Reuters.

The decision, announced Monday by a White House official, comes as Trump seeks to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into peace negotiations with Russia. The sudden suspension has sent shockwaves through Kyiv and its European allies, raising concerns about Ukraine’s ability to continue its defense against Russian aggression.

Trump, who has long expressed skepticism over prolonged US military support to Ukraine, did not rule out a potential pause when pressed by reporters earlier in the day. However, confirmation of the suspension has rattled officials in both Kyiv and Washington.

“The President has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well,” a White House official told AFP on condition of anonymity. “We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”

The halt impacts hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of weaponry already in the pipeline to Ukraine, according to The New York Times. Congressional Democrats have swiftly denounced the move as dangerous and unlawful.

“My Republican colleagues who have called Putin a war criminal and promised their continued support to Ukraine must join me in demanding President Trump immediately lift this disastrous and unlawful freeze,” said Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

In remarks at the White House, Trump indicated his frustration with Zelensky, suggesting that the Ukrainian leader should be more “appreciative” of US assistance. He also warned that without a ceasefire deal with Moscow, Zelensky “won’t be around very long.”

The Ukrainian leader responded cautiously, saying that Kyiv remains committed to ending the war “as soon as possible” but insisted that meaningful peace talks must include strong security guarantees for Ukraine.

“It was the lack of security guarantees for Ukraine 11 years ago that allowed Russia to start with the occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbas, then the lack of security guarantees allowed Russia to launch a full-scale invasion,” Zelensky said in a video statement.

The US aid freeze has spurred urgent discussions among European leaders. Britain and France are reportedly exploring a one-month truce between Ukraine and Russia, with the possibility of military backing to enforce a ceasefire.

Germany’s likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, called Trump’s decision a “deliberate escalation” that could embolden Russia and undermine Ukraine’s defense efforts.

Benjamin Haddad, France’s junior minister for Europe, also criticized the move, stating, “Fundamentally, if you want peace, does a decision to suspend arms to Ukraine reinforce peace or does it make it more distant? It makes it more distant because it only strengthens the hand of the aggressor on the ground, which is Russia.”