Yesterday, Trump paused all military aid to Ukraine after a disastrous meeting with Zelensky last Friday. Now what?
U.S. Pauses All Military Aid to Ukraine
Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported U.S. Pauses All Military Aid to Ukraine
The U.S. will pause all military aid to Kyiv until President Trump determines that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is making a good-faith effort toward peace negotiations with Russia, according to a White House official.
“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,” a White House official said in a statement.
The White House didn’t announce under what conditions the U.S. would resume military aid, which drew from U.S. stockpiles, or whether it would be at the same pace. While there isn’t a clear understanding of what Washington wants from Kyiv, the move was the most demonstrative shift yet from Ukraine’s once top ally.
A senior administration official said all of Trump’s top national security advisers agreed with the decision to pause the aid after several meetings on the issue. Trump, enraged by Zelensky’s comments that he thought the end of the war was far away, felt the need to show he was serious about getting Ukraine to the peace table.
“The Ukrainians didn’t think we were serious,” the administration official said. “We had to make a demonstration.”
The official said Trump would decide what constitutes Ukraine showing that it is serious about peace talks, adding that it is unclear whether Zelensky signing a rare-minerals deal sought by the Trump administration would be enough to restart arms deliveries.
Trump on Monday said Zelensky should be “more appreciative because this country has stuck with them through thick and thin.” A proposed mineral-rights deal between the U.S. and Ukraine would provide Kyiv with added security—even without explicit U.S. defense guarantees sought by Zelensky—because the U.S. would have a “presence there,” Trump said.
He lashed out at Zelensky for saying the war with Russia was likely to continue for some time. “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump wrote on his social-media platform Truth Social, using the different spelling of the Ukrainian leader’s name.
Trump-Zelensky Meeting Implodes, Trump Says “Come Back When You Want Peace”
On Friday, I commented Trump-Zelensky Meeting Implodes, Trump Says “Come Back When You Want Peace”
Put a minerals’ deal with Ukraine temporarily on hold, but Zelensky “has no cards”.
Plenty of Blame to Share
At the meeting, Zelensky tried to pressure Trump to militarily enforce peace. Vice President J.D. Vance then blasted Zelensky and the signing blew up.
This was supposed to be a rah-rah signing, instead it turned into a contentious media circus. There is plenty of blame to share for the fiasco. That is something I failed to mention.
And why wasn’t Secretary of State Marco Rubio there instead of Vice President J.D. Vance? The meeting would have been smoother with Rubio. [ Edit – Rubio was there but silent]
Note to deal signers: Work out an agreement in advance and short statements in advance. Don’t make stupid comments about continuing war in a peace deal, and don’t try to get more at the signing than you agreed to.
European Leaders Renew Support for Ukraine
On March 1, NPR reported European Leaders Renew Support for Ukraine after Zelenskyy’s Stormy Meeting with Trump
Volodymyr Zelenskyy got a warm welcome in London on Saturday as leaders across Europe rallied to his defense on the heels of an extraordinary Oval Office clash in which President Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of “gambling with World War III.”
French President Emmanuel Macron was among the most pointed in his public statements, distinguishing between what he called the “aggressor” — Russia — and the “victim” — Ukraine. He said that countries including France that had helped Ukraine and sanctioned Russia three years ago after its February 2022 invasion were “right” to continue to do so.
France’s prime minister, François Bayrou, praised Zelenskyy as the honor of Europe for “refusing to bend,” despite the televised criticism he faced from both Vance and Trump. “It remains for us to decide what we Europeans want to be,” Bayrou wrote, in light of the new Trump administration’s impact on Europe’s defense. “And if we want to be at all.”
Meanwhile, the Eiffel Tower was lit up on Friday night in the Ukrainian flag colors of blue and yellow.
The European Union’s most powerful leader, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, told Zelenskyy in a message posted on social media on Friday that his “dignity honors the bravery of the Ukrainian people,” adding an encouragement that he “be strong, be brave, be fearless,” and concluding “you are never alone.”
I read that and thought. So what? What is Ukraine going to do without the US?
I did not think European solidarity changed anything. And that turns out to be correct.
Zelensky Calls Trump Clash ‘Regrettable’, Says ‘Time to Make Things Right’
Today we learn Zelensky Calls Trump Clash ‘Regrettable’, Says ‘Time to Make Things Right’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he regretted last week’s extraordinary Oval Office clash with Donald Trump and wanted to “make things right“, adding that Kyiv was ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible.
In a fulsome statement issued a day after Trump halted military aid to Ukraine, Zelenskiy said he was ready to sign “any time and in any convenient format” a deal giving the United States access to Ukrainian minerals. He had left the deal on the table when he abandoned a visit to Washington after an Oval Office argument with Trump on Friday.
The statement made no mention of the pause in U.S. military supplies, the latest move by Trump to upend U.S. policy on Ukraine and adopt a more conciliatory stance towards Russia.
But the statement was clearly aimed at stressing Kyiv’s gratitude amid the fallout from the explosive confrontation at the White House on Friday, during which Trump and Vice President JD Vance upbraided Zelensky for being insufficiently appreciative of U.S. backing and their efforts to end the war.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said afterwards that Zelenskiy should apologise.
“We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence,” Zelenskiy wrote. “Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right.”
Zelenskiy outlined a path towards a peace agreement, which he said could begin with a release of prisoners and a halt to air and sea attacks, if Russia did the same.
“Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the U.S. to agree a strong final deal.“
The Kremlin, for its part, said cutting off military aid to Ukraine was the best possible step towards peace, although it was still waiting to confirm Trump’s move.
France’s Prime Minister Francois Bayou was sharply critical of Trump’s move.
“Suspending aid during a war to a country under attack means abandoning the country under attack and accepting or hoping that the aggressor will win,” he said during a parliamentary debate.Ukrainians, who have endured three years of war against a more powerful foe, were stunned by a move many described as a betrayal. Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said it looked like Trump was “pushing us towards capitulation”.
“Yes, it is betrayal, let’s call it like it is,” said lawyer Olena Bilova, 47 in Kyiv. “But let’s hope that American civil society and the elites of the European Union will not leave us alone.”
Meaningless EU Solidarity
Regrettable is a huge understatement. As I stated, all sides made huge mistakes, ruining what should have been a great signing moment.
EU solidarity is meaningless as the lead chart suggests. And now Rubio demands an apology.
It should not have been this way.