President Donald Trump ordered his administration to “pause” military assistance to Ukraine following the disputed oval office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on February 28, two White House officials told ABC News.
An official in the White House said Trump has been aware that he is focused on peace and added, “We need our partners to be committed to this goal as well. We pause and review our help to ensure that it contributes to a solution.”
President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt room of the White House in Washington, March 3. 2025.
Leah Millis/Reuters
The move came hours after Trump told ABC News that Zelenskyy should be “more appreciated.”
Senior Politics Correspondent Rachel Scott Bad Trump Tuesday: “What do you need to see from President Zelenskyy to restart these negotiations?”
“Well, I just think he should be more appreciated because this country has stayed with them through thick and thin,” the president replied.
It is difficult to know exactly how the break can affect the flow of previously provided assistance.
In the last few months of former President Joe Bite’s administration, it announced four presidential packages to the president of Ukraine.
The packages amounted to $ 3 billion in weapons from Pentagon’s warehouse, and they were intended to be delivered to Ukraine as soon as possible after the announcements in December and January.
About 90% of arms obliged to Ukraine by former PDA packages have already been delivered to the country, according to two US officials familiar with the case.
It includes the vast majority of critical ammunitions and anti-armor systems, they say, adding that most of what is left to go through the pipeline are armored vehicles that take longer to renovate, with all PDA equipment previously on track for delivery in August 2025.
However, there is still a steady arms of arms to move from the United States to Ukraine for at least the next several years, when dilapidated contracts were signed with private US companies recently produced weapons. Many, if not most of these contracts, have been paid.
Trump administration could still try to disturb these shipments through the use of emergency authorities, but there is no indication that it is trying to do so at the moment.
In addition, there is still a chance of negotiations to resume between the United States and Ukraine, as Vice President JD Vance suggested during a performance on Fox News ‘Hannity’ on Monday.
Vance was asked if the administration would bid Zelenskyy if he was willing to return to the negotiating table. Vance said yes – if zelenskyy was willing to “get involved seriously.”
“I think if he called and had a serious suggestion on how he would participate in the process – see there are details that really matter that we are already working with the Russians,” Vancer said.
“He has to get involved seriously at the details,” he added, though it was unclear whether he strictly referred to the raw minerals pursuing the United States with Ukraine, soil dreams or other details that could influence the negotiations.
“I think when that happens, we will talk,” said the vice president.
Also in dispute is the amount of help that the United States has already given Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly claimed inaccurately that the United States have used approx. $ 350 billion against Ukraine, while other sources put the figure well under $ 200 billion, including bilateral help.
ABC News’ Shannon Kingston, Luis Martinez and T. Michelle Murphy contributed to this report.
