President Donald Trump has paused military aid to Ukraine following his clash with Ukrainian President Zelensky last week.

It comes after the pair at clashed at the White House on Friday in which Trump criticized him for being insufficiently grateful for Washington's backing in the war with Russia.

An official said: "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 Ukrainian parliamentary foreign affairs committee chair told reporters this morning the Trump military aid pause "looks really bad, it looks like he is pushing Kyiv towards capitulation."

Trump and Zelensky have clashed in the White House

An image from Russia's latest aerial attack against KyivReuters

Democrats in the US Congress denounced the move, accusing the President of opening the door for Putin.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters: "By freezing military aid to Ukraine, President Trump has kicked the door wide open for Putin to escalate his violent aggression against innocent Ukrainians. The repercussions will undoubtedly be devastating."

Trump repeated his claim that Zelensky should be more appreciative of American support after earlier responding angrily to an Associated Press report quoting Zelensky as saying the end of the war is "very, very far away."

The Republican wrote on his social media page: "This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!"

President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy

Protests against Trump being held

Ukrainian flags are draped over the shoulders of protesters during a rally calling for the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war