Washington, D.C., US – US President Donald Trump on Monday ordered a temporary suspension of US military aid to Ukraine.

It comes just days after Trump clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Multiple news agencies cited an unnamed White House official as saying that the US was ‘pausing and reviewing’ its aid to ‘ensure that it is contributing to a solution’ to the war with Russia.

“President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well,” the official was cited as saying.

The Fox News broadcaster cited an unnamed government official as saying that the measure did not amount to a permanent suspension of aid.

On Friday, Zelensky visited the White House in order to sign a deal to give the US access to Ukraine’s rare minerals.

During a press conference in the Oval Office before the planned signing of the deal, Zelensky drew the ire of Trump and US Vice President J D Vance after he argued that Ukraine required security guarantees as part of any ceasefire agreement with Russia, pointing to the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin had not respected earlier agreements.

US media reported that the Ukrainian delegation was asked to leave the White House after the row and the mineral deal was not signed.

Several European leaders reiterated their support for Ukraine following the clash, which has sparked a debate on Europe’s relationship with the United States.

On Sunday evening, European leaders convened at a summit in London in order to discuss boosting Europe’s defence capabilities and continued support for Ukraine.

Earlier on Monday, Trump criticised Zelensky for suggesting that the end of the war was still likely ‘very, very far away’.

The US president responded on his Truth Social platform, saying that the remarks constituted ‘the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer!’

“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,” Trump said.

Trump has suggested Zelensky ‘won’t be around for very long’ if the Ukrainian president does not agree to a ceasefire deal with Moscow.

The US president has also accused Zelensky of being a ‘dictator’ and multiple US officials have called for him to resign.

Zelensky achieved a landslide victory in Ukraine’s 2019 presidential election. The next presidential election was to take place in March 2024, but it was postponed as Ukrainian law does not allow for national elections to be held under martial law.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Haddad, France’s junior minister for Europe said the US decision to freeze aid to Ukraine strengthens Russia’s position and makes peace harder to achieve.

“Fundamentally, if you want peace, does a decision to suspend arms to Ukraine reinforce peace or does it make it more distant? It makes it more distant, because it only strengthens the hand of the aggressor on the ground, which is Russia,” Haddad told broadcaster France 2.

DW