US president Donald Trump has paused all military aid to Ukraine following a fiery clash with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky last week, deepening the fissure that has opened between the two allies.
It was a Ukrainian concern that has been simmering for months but one Kyiv hoped it could allay with diplomacy.
As Mr Trump and his vice-president JD Vance berated Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday night for not saying thank you for the past three years of support, that concern suddenly became a serious possibility.
In the aftermath of the unprecedented spat in front of the cameras, an official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters: “President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace. 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 order will remain in effect until Mr Trump determines that Ukraine has demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia, a White House official also told the Associated Press.
The halting of military aid comes some five years after Mr Trump held up congressionally authorised assistance to Ukraine as he sought to pressure Mr Zelensky to launch an investigation into Joe Biden, then a Democratic presidential candidate. The moment led to Mr Trump’s first impeachment.
A Trump administration official had earlier said they were considering cancelling all help, including the final shipments of ammunition and equipment authorised and paid for during Mr Biden’s tenure.
Mr Trump earlier on Monday slammed Mr Zelensky for suggesting that the end of the war likely “is still very, very far away”. Mr Zelensky had suggested it would take time to come to an agreement to end the war as he tried to offer a positive take on the US-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of last week’s White House meeting.
Below, we look at just how consequential that could be – and what weapons the US has been sending to Ukraine.
Almost half of the £103bn in military support sent to Ukraine by its allies has come from the US, according to estimates by the Kiel Institute. That figure is a little over £51bn.
The second and third largest military supporters are Germany and the UK, who have sent £10bn and £8bn respectively.
If you calculate total military spending as a percentage of each country’s GDP, however, the US is much lower down the list of Ukraine’s backers. Its total support amounts to 0.296 per cent of its GDP, making it the 17th most significant military backer proportionate to GDP.
Denmark is Ukraine’s most significant military supporter measured against its GDP. It has sent around 2.038 per cent. The next four, in order, are Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Finland. These four countries all share a border with mainland Russia or its exclave Kaliningrad.
But if Ukraine lost the material heft of US support, it could prove devastating. This is why Mr Zelensky has been adamant that US security guarantees as part of a peace deal are the only means of preventing future Russian aggression. Europe’s support alone, he maintains, would not be sufficient.
