Trump to pause military aid to Ukraine, may ease sanctions on Russia

A White House official confirmed on Mar. 3 that U.S. President Trump will order a pause in all future military aid to Ukraine, following an acrimonious argument with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Trump has long been sceptical of aid to Ukraine: White House official

A White House official said that Trump "has been clear that he is focused on peace" and that they are "pausing and reviewing" their aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution, according to The Washington Post.

The official added they need their partners to "be committed to that goal as well".

Another official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the U.S. news outlet that Trump has long been sceptical of aid to Ukraine, but his top aides began preparing serious policy options for ending military assistance following the tense disagreement between Trump, Zelensky, and Vice President JD Vance.

If Zelensky demonstrated "a good-faith effort to participate in peace talks", the decision could be reversed.

Just a few days prior, Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, and Zelensky got into a fiery debate in what was meant to be a cordial signing of a minerals agreement between the two countries.

During the meeting, Trump accused his Ukrainian counterpart of draining U.S. resources worth US$350 billion (S$473 billion) and claimed that Zelensky had "not once thanked" the U.S. for its help.

Both claims regarding the amount of aid sent to Ukraine and Zelensky's apparent ungratefulness were disputed by other media.

Possible Russia sanctions relief

The U.S. is also in talks of potentially giving Russia sanctions relief, according to Reuters.

The State and Treasury departments were requested by the White House to draft a list of sanctions that could be eased on select entities and individuals, including some Russian oligarchs said Reuters, citing an unnamed U.S. official and a "person familiar with the matter."

Since the start of the Russian-Ukraine war in 2022, U.S. sanctions on Russia include those aimed at limiting revenues from the country's huge oil and gas industry.

Trump previously threatened more sanctions on Russia earlier this year in January.

Top image via Donald Trump/Facebook, Volodymyr Zelenskyy/X, and Kremlin/X