TOI Correspondent from Washington: US President Donald Trump has pulled the plug on American military assistance to Ukraine.
Hours after smacking down on Ukraine’s President Voldymyr Zelenskyyy for telling Associated Press that the end of the war with Russia is “very, very far away,” Trump suspended military aid to Kyiv “till it is determined that Ukraine had demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Moscow.”
In the same breath, the Trump administration is also reported to be considering lifting some sanctions on Russia, a day after the Pentagon suspended offensive cyber operations against Moscow. Coming on the heels of Zelenskyy finding solace in London from other Nato members after a public dressing down he received in the US last week, the Trump White House‘s twin moves signals a remarkable reorientation of the global power architecture, with Washington and Moscow virtually aligned against Nato plus Ukraine minus US.
US officials chose to use the words “suspended” and “paused” to convey Trump’s halting of aid to Ukraine, with the suggestion that matters could still be salvaged if Zelenskyy sued for peace without the guarantees he sought in the Oval Office meeting that imploded last week. In other worlds, an abject surrender on Trump’s terms. Some US lawmakers, notably Senator Lindsey Graham, suggested Zelenskyy could help Ukraine repair ties with Trump by resigning, counsel that the Ukrainian leader snippily rejected, saying Graham, a foreign policy gadabout, could ask for his resignation if he took up Ukrainian citizenship.
Such perceived hauteur, along with a sense of entitlement that he still expected the US to continue backing Kiev despite the fiasco in the White House, appeared to enrage Trump, who has long complained that Ukraine and its supporters are using the US as an ATM and have been ungrateful to boot. “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 Truth Social, shortly before axing aid to Ukraine.
According to pro-Trump analysts, Zelenskyy really tested Trump’s limits during the Oval Office debacle by insisting that European Nato partners gave Ukraine “a lot,” contrary to Trump’s claim that the US is shouldering much of the burden for what he sees as an unwinnable war. “But they gave much less (than US)” Trump interjected at the meeting, but Zelinsky doubled down to maintain they gave a lot. The to-and-fro on this appeared mirthful at that time but it eventually triggered Trump, who has long been resentful of Nato allies not ponying up more for their defence.
With Washington’s withdrawal of support, Ukraine is now left with an America-sized hole to fill if it is to sustain the war effort. Zelenskyy has said in interviews that US supplies some 30 per cent of Kiev’s war needs, and while Ukraine could continue to fight Russia even without US support, it would be a big hole to fill with doubts about whether Europe can step up to the plate and put money where the mouth is.
In the US, talk of Trump being “Putin’s puppet” and “Moscow’s man” is escalating from Democrats and Republican never-Trumpers. “Donald Trump, JD Vance, and Elon Musk have made clear who they are. Only fools—or Kremlin tools—would abandon Nato, side with Russia, and demand Ukraine surrender in the face of Putin’s brutal aggression,” said Liz Cheney, a former lawmaker and former vice-president Dick Cheney’s daughter.
But Trump’s MAGA supporters are rejoicing over the saving of billions, and are pushing for a complete withdrawal from Nato.