The US has halted military aid to Ukraine. Weapons and other military equipment on its way to Ukrainian military bases that has not already arrived in Ukraine, will be told to make a U-turn back to their origin.
President Trump has said the pause will continue until President Zelensky proves that he is dedicated to peace and sits down to discuss a deal with Russia with the US as brokers. Trump has indicated that the freeze on military hardware is not permanent, but a pause. The US, it seems, is attempting to force the hand of Ukraine into conceding land to Putin in order to bring him to the negotiating table and stop the fighting.
US aid freeze to hit Ukraine military hard
The immediate impact will hit Ukraine’s war effort hard. The US has provided $65.9 billion in military assistance since Russia’s 2022 invasion, according to the US State Department, including vital systems like HIMARS, Patriot defences, and over 100,000 rounds of artillery ammo. Without this, Ukraine’s ability to counter Russia’s intensified eastern offensive will likely erode fast. Moscow’s forces have gained 765 square kilometres since January 2025.
Ukraine’s survival odds will no doubt drop as a result of the suspension of aid, but not to zero. European aid and domestic ingenuity might buy some time. The US risks losing leverage over a $20 trillion Ukrainian minerals deal Trump is eyeing.
Meanwhile, President Trump has accused European leaders of being ‘weak’ after Starmer, Macron, and other EU heads said they would not send peacekeeping troops into Ukraine without a security guarantee, or a kind of ‘backstop,’ from the US.
Trump hard-nosed business negotiation tactics
Zelensky had been quoted as saying that ‘the war is far from over,’ to which Trump responded that it was ‘the worst statement that could have been made’ and, ‘America will not put up with it for much longer.’
Hanging in the balance is a deal between Ukraine and the US for Ukrainian rare minerals, although the freeze on aid appears more likely to be the hard-nosed business negotiation tactics of the American president.
He also said on his social media account that European nations were being hypocritical, with most spending more on buying Russian gas and oil than they had been on sending weapons to Ukraine.
