Washington, 4 March 2025 (dpa/MIA) - The administration of US President Donald Trump is temporarily suspending US military aid for Ukraine, the White House confirmed on Monday.

Trump had made it unmistakably clear his focus was on peace, the White House told dpa.

The move comes just days after Trump clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

The New York Times reported support would be resumed once Trump had determined Ukraine was committed to peace negotiations with Russia. The suspension takes effect immediately, impacting more than $1 billion worth of weapons and ammunition already ordered or in the process of being delivered, according to the report.

The Washington Post reported that the decision was made during a White House meeting on Monday, where Trump discussed the matter with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Trump repeatedly threatened to cut aid

During his election campaign, Trump had questioned the necessity of US aid to Ukraine.

After a tense exchange with Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday, he openly threatened to withdraw all US support.

Earlier on Monday, Trump warned that Washington's patience with Kiev may be running out.

His remarks came in response to Zelensky's comments in London, where the Ukrainian leader told reporters that a peace deal to end the war remained "very, very far away."

"This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!" He went on to accuse Zelensky of deliberately prolonging the conflict, adding, "It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing."

"Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US - Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?" Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

On Sunday, Western leaders meeting in London decided that a group of countries led by the United Kingdom and France should work with Ukraine on a peace plan, which would then be discussed with the US and, ideally, implemented.

Under Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, the US was Ukraine's largest and most important supporter in the defensive struggle against Russia.

During Biden's administration, which delivered more than $65 billion in military aid to Kiev, additional support included economic and humanitarian assistance, intelligence sharing, and training for Ukrainian fighter jet pilots. It remains unclear whether these forms of aid will also be affected by Trump's policy shift.

Trump's administration had been seeking a raw materials agreement with Ukraine in recent weeks, which, among other things, involved US access to rare earth minerals stored in Ukraine. So far, the Ukrainian government has not agreed.

When asked if the deal was dead or could be revived, Trump pointed to his upcoming speech in the US Congress.

The 78-year-old is set to made his State of the Union address before both chambers of Congress on Tuesday evening. He hinted that he would address the matter there.

Zelensky pleads for 'a just, fair peace'

Meanwhile, Zelensky called for a quick end to the war with Russia and an acceptable peace. "We need peace, a just, fair peace and not an endless war," he said in his evening video message.

The base scenario, he said, was to hold current Ukrainian positions on the front line and thus create the conditions for "real diplomacy."

Zelensky again insisted on security guarantees for his country. "Indeed, the lack of security guarantees allowed Russia 11 years ago to begin with the occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbass," the head of state emphasized.

He added that the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army, which began in 2022 and continues to this day, is also the result of a lack of security guarantees. "And the whole world sees and acknowledges this," Zelensky stressed.

Trump's interpretation of Zelensky's insistence on mainly US guarantees before a ceasefire was seen as a lack of interest in peace with Russia.

For more than three years, Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian invasion with the help of the West.

Photo: EPA