Donald Trump has pressured Volodymyr Zelensky on Russia talks with his latest move, which comes days after the US President’s bullying in the Oval Office at the White House
Bullish Donald Trump has ordered the pausing of US military aid for Ukraine after his Oval Office blowup with Volodymyr Zelensky.
A White House official said the US President is focused on reaching a peace deal to end the more than three-year war sparked by Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, and wants Mr Zelensky “committed” to that goal.
But the official added the US will now “pause and review” its aid to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution.” The official spoke this morning on the condition of anonymity to discuss the assistance.
Mr Trump and Vice President JD Vance bullied Mr Zelensky during a disastrous White House meeting on Friday, during which the US leader turfed Mr Zelensky out of the building and axed their planned press conference.
In the leadup to his 2024 election win, Mr Trump vowed to quickly end the war in Ukraine. He expressed increasing frustration with Mr Zelenskyy over the war, yet stressed confidence Russian President Vladimir Putin could be trusted to keep the peace if a truce in the conflict were to be reached.
But Mr Trump had said the European demand was showing weakness to Russia. His comments came as Sir Keir Starmer restated his call for “strong US backing” for any European-led peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
The Prime Minister gathered leaders from Europe and Canada, including Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, for talks in London on Sunday. The US president also criticised Mr Zelensky – just days after their heated Oval Office clash – for suggesting a deal to end the war with Russia “is still very, very far away”.
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer,” Mr Trump, 78, wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelensky, 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?”
