Trump directs administration to 'pause' military aid to Ukraine
President Donald Trump directed his administration to "pause" military aid to Ukraine after the contentious Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Feb. 28, two White House officials told ABC News.
A White House official said Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace and added, "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 move came hours after Trump told ABC News that Zelenskyy needed to be "more appreciative."
Senior Politics Correspondent Rachel Scott asked Trump on Tuesday: "What do you need to see from President Zelenskyy to restart these negotiations?"
"Well, I just think he should be more appreciative because this country has stuck with them through thick and thin," the president responded.
It's difficult to know exactly how the pause could impact the flow of previously granted aid.
In the last few months of former President Joe Biden's administration, it announced four Presidential Drawdown Authority packages to Ukraine.
The packages totaled $3 billion in weapons from the Pentagon's inventory, and they were meant to be provided to Ukraine as quickly as possible following the announcements in December and January.
About 90% of arms committed to Ukraine by past PDA packages have already been delivered to the country, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
That includes the vast majority of critical munitions and anti-armor systems, they say, adding that most of the what’s left to go through the pipeline are armored vehicles that take longer to refurbish, with all PDA equipment previously on track for delivery by August 2025.
However, a steady flow of arms is still set to move from the U.S. to Ukraine for at least the next several years due contracts Kyiv signed with private American companies for newly produced weapons. Many if not most of those contracts have been paid.
The Trump administration could still attempt to disrupt those shipments through the use of emergency authorities, but there’s no indication it is trying to do that at present.
Additionally, there is still a chance for negotiations to resume between the U.S. and Ukraine, as Vice President JD Vance implied during an appearance on Fox News' "Hannity" on Monday.
Vance was asked if the administration would welcome Zelenskyy back if he were willing to come back to the negotiating table. Vance said yes -- if Zelenskyy were willing to "engage seriously."
"I think that if he called and had a serious proposal for how he was going to engage in the process -- look, there are details that really matter, that we're already working on with the Russians," Vance said.
"He needs to engage seriously on the details," he added, though it was unclear if he was strictly referring to the raw minerals deal that the U.S. is pursuing with Ukraine, land concessions or other details that may be impacting negotiations.
"I think once that happens, then absolutely, we want to talk," the vice president said.
Also in dispute is the amount of aid that the U.S. has already given Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly claimed, inaccurately, that the United States has spent some $350 billion toward Ukraine, while other sources put the figure well under $200 billion, including bilateral aid.
ABC News' Shannon Kingston, Luis Martinez and T. Michelle Murphy contributed to this report.
