US President Donald Trump has temporarily suspended military aid to Ukraine, with the possibility of restoring support if peace talks are arranged and confidence-building measures are implemented, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz confirmed on Wednesday.
Reacting to a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressing his willingness to engage in negotiations, Waltz called the message “a good, positive first step,” as per Reuters.
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He added that discussions were ongoing regarding the logistics of a potential peace negotiation, including the date, location, and negotiating team.
“We’re already talking about confidence-building measures that we’ll then take to the Russians and test that side,” Waltz said during an interview on Fox & Friends, though he did not specify what these measures would entail.
Trump’s decision to suspend military aid follows an explosive confrontation between Trump and Zelensky at the White House earlier this week.
The suspension, which affects over $1 billion in weapons and ammunition, stems from a series of meetings between Trump and his senior national security aides, according to officials who spoke with the New York Times (NYT) under the condition of anonymity.
The suspension is expected to remain in effect until Trump determines that Ukraine “had demonstrated a good-faith commitment to peace negotiations with Russia.”
A Sober Look at the State of Ukraine’s Peace Negotiations
“I think if we can nail down these negotiations and move towards these negotiations, and put some confidence-building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause,” Waltz said.
“We have to know that both sides are sincerely negotiating towards a partial, then a permanent, peace,” he added.
As the New York Times outlined, the most immediate beneficiary of the US’s aid suspension is Russian President Vladimir Putin. If the pause continues, Putin may seize the opportunity to gain further territorial advances.
There’s concern that a prolonged standoff between Trump and Zelensky could strengthen Putin’s position either on the battlefield or during any eventual ceasefire talks.
“And he may well decide to hold back from any negotiations at all,” the NYT’s report reads.
This move marks a rare precedent in US foreign policy, as a complete cutoff of military aid has few direct comparisons in recent history.
While the US has suspended certain weapons deliveries in the past, such as Biden’s suspension of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel over concerns of civilian casualties, Trump’s directive is notably more extreme, effectively presenting Zelensky with an ultimatum: agree to a ceasefire on Trump’s terms or face larger military losses, as per NYT.
Additionally, the suspension puts the United States at odds with its NATO allies, particularly France, Germany, and Britain, who have pledged to continue their support for Ukraine. However, these European nations do not possess the stockpiles needed to offset the shortfall in the immediate term.
Trump’s directive also halts Pentagon stockpile deliveries, as well as aid from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows Kyiv to purchase new military hardware directly from US defense companies.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed that the US has paused both weapons shipments and intelligence sharing with Ukraine following a meeting in the Oval Office.
Quoted by White House correspondent Edward Lawrence on X, Ratcliffe said he “looks forward to lifting the pause and working with Ukraine towards peace following the letter to POTUS.”
Before this, the Financial Times reported that the US had cut off intelligence-sharing with Kyiv, a move also affecting UK intelligence agencies. The Daily Mail revealed that US orders now prohibit UK agencies, including GCHQ and the Ministry of Defence, from transferring intelligence previously classified as “Releasable to Ukraine” (Rel UKR).
Since Russia’s invasion three years ago, the UK, along with allies like Australia and New Zealand, had been sharing intelligence with Ukraine. However, the US has revoked this classification, which experts warn could hamper Ukraine’s defense capabilities.
The US is reportedly tightening control over intelligence distribution to Ukraine through agencies based in Kyiv.
A senior Ukrainian official told the Financial Times: “We have two to three months. After that, the position will be very difficult for us. It will not be a total collapse, but we will be forced to withdraw from some areas more quickly.”
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