Pentagon confirms U.S. military aid to Ukraine has paused

(Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information.)

The Pentagon last night confirmed that all U.S. military aid to Ukraine has been paused, following a tense public meeting in the Oval Office last week between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Additional information about the pause was not provided.

The United States has provided Ukraine with about $65 billion in military aid since the start of the Russian invasion, with the vast majority of the funds going to U.S. defense contractors to either supply weapons to Kyiv directly or replenish (and sometimes upgrade) weapons being transferred from U.S. stocks.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, released a statement blasting Trump for stopping the aid.

“President Trump says he is focused on a peace agreement. If that’s true, then the last thing that he should do is cut Ukraine off at the knees,” Smith said. “The only way that Ukraine will be able to negotiate with Russia from a position of strength is if Ukraine has the means to defend itself against Putin’s ongoing and unjust war. The most important piece of that is U.S security assistance to ensure Ukraine’s survival -- there will be no negotiation if Ukraine is destroyed.”

Trump, who has long been skeptical of providing aid to Ukraine, has been lobbying Zelensky to accept a peace agreement with Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and occupies about 20% of the country. Zelensky, however, has said Ukraine cannot accept any peace without guarantees of future security.

Tension has increased between Trump and Zelensky in recent weeks, with Trump calling him a “dictator,” falsely blaming Ukraine for the Russian invasion and demanding that Kyiv provide billions in future mineral rights to the United States as recompense for past aid and the promise of continued support.

The mineral rights deal was supposed to be signed during Zelensky’s visit to the White House last week, but Trump asked the Ukrainian president to leave after arguments erupted over whether Ukraine was appropriately grateful to the United States and was ready to negotiate.

“I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” he said in a Truth Social post. “He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he’s ready for Peace.”

UPDATE: Zelensky posted on X today that Ukraine is “grateful” for U.S. assistance and that he is ready to return to the United States and “make things right” with Trump.

“Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be,” he wrote. “It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format. We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively.”