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US president’s reported transfer comes hours after he accused Ukrainian chief of not wanting peace.
United States President Donald Trump has paused army support to Ukraine in a dramatic escalation of his spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Trump will pause all support till Kyiv is dedicated to what he determines are good-faith negotiations for peace, a number of US media retailers reported on Monday, citing unnamed Trump administration officers.
The transfer got here hours after Trump accused Zelenskyy of not wanting peace “as lengthy he has America’s backing” in a put up on Fact Social, escalating a disagreement that culminated in a surprising public conflict between the 2 leaders on the White Home on Friday.
The choice to droop the switch of a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in arms and ammunition which can be within the pipeline is more likely to deal a critical blow to Ukraine’s efforts to repel Russia’s invasion.
Whereas the US Congress has not authorised any new army support past the $86bn already dedicated to Ukraine since Trump’s inauguration in January, former US President Joe Biden authorised transfers to proceed supplying gear for not less than a number of years.
Earlier than Trump’s order, Washington was on monitor to produce month-to-month deliveries price $920m this yr, up from $500m in 2024, based on an evaluation by the Washington-based Middle for Strategic and Worldwide Research and Worldwide Research.
The recent nadir in US-Ukraine relations comes after Trump took subject with Zelenskyy’s suggestion that the tip of his nation’s conflict in opposition to Russia’s invading forces was possible nonetheless “very, very far-off”.
Talking on the White Home on Monday, Trump mentioned the Ukrainian chief “higher not be proper” and that the conflict ought to “finish quick”.
“If any individual doesn’t need to make a deal, I feel that individual gained’t be round very lengthy,” Trump mentioned. “That individual is not going to be listened to very lengthy.”
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