President Donald Trump has ordered a pause on shipments of US military aid to Ukraine following a heated Oval Office argument with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, a White House official told CNN on 3 March.
The halt in aid came after Trump held several meetings with top national security officials at the White House. According to analysts, this decision could severely impact Ukraine’s war-fighting abilities.
The pause will apply to all military equipment not yet inside Ukraine. Officials say Ukraine could likely sustain its current fighting pace for several weeks—perhaps until the start of summer—before the US pause would begin to have a major effect.
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, warned about the potential consequences.
“The impact is going to be big. I would call it crippling,” he told CNN.
Cancian estimated that Ukraine would feel the impacts within two to four months, as aid from European countries helps Kyiv remain in the fight for now.
“That’s why they don’t fall off a cliff, but when your supplies get cut in half, eventually that shows up on the front lines,” he said.
According to CNN, the White House made the decision as officials seek an acknowledgement from Zelenskyy about the breakdown in relations following Friday’s confrontation in the Oval Office. Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly called for Zelenskyy to apologize in an interview on CNN.
A European official called the Trump administration’s decision “petty and wrong” and predicted it will cause unnecessary civilian casualties, as Ukraine will not be able to defend against Russian air attacks after they run out of air defense missiles.
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