The rift between President Trump and Ukraine leader Volodormyr Zelenskyy is growing wider…
On Monday, the Trump administration paused all aid to Ukraine, including weapons in transit or in Poland, until Ukrainian leaders show more appreciation for U.S. support and a commitment to peace.
“President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace,” a White House official told Fox News. “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.”
A senior Trump administration official also told Fox News that military aid will remain on hold until Ukrainian leaders show a commitment to good faith peace negotiations.
“This is not permanent termination of aid, it’s a pause,” the official emphasized. “The orders are going out right now.”
Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance last week erupted into a shouting match that was seen worldwide. The Ukrainian president traveled to the United States to meet with Trump after the commander-in-chief said a peace negotiation to end the war between Ukraine and Russia is in its final stages.
Zelenskyy was apparently presented with a minerals for security agreement by the Trump administration prior to the press event, but the deal included no security guarantees to protect Ukraine from another Russian invasion.
Minutes after reporters in the Oval Office asked their first questions, an aggressive spat unfolded between the heads of state.
The Biden administration gave billions in military aid to Ukraine to fend off Russian forces amid its three-year war following Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor.
When asked Monday about the status of the rare-earth minerals deal, Trump told reporters that he would disclose where the deal stands when he addresses a joint session of Congress Tuesday in a speech akin to the annual State of the Union. He added that he would like to see the Ukrainian leader express more gratitude for U.S. support during the war in order to rekindle peace negotiations.
“I just think he should be more appreciative because this country has stuck with him through thick and thin,” Trump said. “We’ve given them much more than Europe, and Europe should have given more than us because, as you know, that’s right there, that’s the border.”
Later on Monday, President Trump spurred extreme reactions from senior advisers such as Elon Musk after responding to Zelenskyy’s comments signaling the end to Ukraine’s conflict with Russia is still “very, very far away.”
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” wrote Trump on Truth Social. “It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?”
On X, Musk shared Trump’s post and argued that “Zelensky wants a forever war, a never-ending graft meat grinder. This is evil.”
Right-wing social media personality Rogan O’Handley then shared Musk’s post along with a theory:
Zelensky knows if the war ends, his power ends
Elections will resume and he’ll lose
Then his adversary will investigate his money laundering and he’ll be sent to prison
Zelensky is sending innocent Ukrainians to die in his meat grinder so he can stay in power
Dictator
“True,” replied Musk. “As distasteful as it is, Zelensky should be offered some kind of amnesty in a neutral country in exchange for a peaceful transition back to democracy in Ukraine.”
