Trump’s halt on military aid will hurt Ukraine’s defences. But it may not be fatal.

LONDON (AP) — The U.S. has been Ukraine’s biggest military backer since Russia’s full-scale invasion began three years ago. The suspension of that aid by the Trump administration doesn’t mean Ukraine’s defenses will quickly collapse.

But it’s a major blow that threatens to remove some of the most formidable weapons in Ukraine’s battlefield arsenal, and ratchets up pressure on Kyiv to accept a peace agreement.

Here’s a look at the decision and its implications.
How much of Ukraine’s aid comes from the U.S.?

The United States has given the Ukrainians more than $180 billion in assistance since Russia launched an all-out war on Feb. 24, 2022, including more than $66.5 billion in military aid.

Washington provides about 20% of Ukraine’s military supplies, and that includes the most lethal and important equipment, including longer-range missiles and Patriot air defense systems that can shoot down the most powerful Russian projectiles.

American military assistance also goes far beyond weapons and ammunition.

Ukrainian troops rely on satellite communications systems supplied by Elon Musk’s Starlink to communicate on the front line, and on American intelligence to track Russian troop movements and select targets for Ukrainian strikes. If the U.S. stops sharing data from satellites and other assets, it would badly affect Ukraine’s capability to strike back at Russia, and Ukraine’s other allies lack the resources to fill the gap.

“A lot will depend on what’s covered by the American suspension,” said Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director-general of defense think tank RUSI. “Will they suspend all technical assistance to Ukraine? That would have a more dramatic, more rapid impact than simply stopping the pipeline of arms.”
Why has Trump cut it off?

The White House said the U.S. is “pausing and reviewing” its Ukraine aid to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution.” The order will remain in effect until U.S. President Donald Trump determines that Ukraine has demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia.

The decision follows an explosive meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, in which Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance said he hasn’t expressed sufficient gratitude for American support.
What has been paused?

It’s murky at best.

Trump’s order pausing aid includes military assistance and weapons that had already been approved and were en route to Ukraine, according to a defense official. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing deliberations, said it’s not clear what weapons that includes or how much aid was stopped even as it was heading to Kyiv.

Since the war began, the U.S. had used two major ways to provide security assistance to Kyiv: presidential drawdown authority, or PDA, which takes weapons and supplies from Pentagon stockpiles and sends them quickly to the front, and the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which uses longer-term contracts to send weapons.

The official said some weapons approved by the Biden administration in recent months that were being provided through the PDA were affected by Trump’s pause. But no details are available.

As an example, a $500 million aid package was the last one approved in January, before President Joe Biden left office. It included missiles for air defense, ammunition bridging systems and other equipment. Officials did not know how much of that aid had already arrived in Ukraine and how much, if any of it, has been paused.

It’s also unclear whether Trump’s order has any impact on any of the contracts that were authorized or finalized under USAI during the Biden administration.
How will it change the battlefield?

The U.S. move won’t have an immediate impact on the battlefield, where Kyiv’s forces are struggling to stem a relentless Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian forces have slowed Russian advances along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, where Russia is slowly gaining ground at a huge human and material cost.

The pause in aid will weaken air defenses and will hurt Ukraine’s ability to hit Russian targets far behind the front lines.

Alexander Kots, a Russian war blogger, said that for Ukraine, “the U.S. aid suspension is unpleasant but not deadly.”

He said that while Ukraine’s European allies can fill some of the gaps and provide artillery systems, they don’t have alternatives to the U.S.-made air defense systems and longer-range HIMARS missile systems that can strike ground targets up to 300 kilometers (200 miles) away.

Ukraine is already running low on missiles for the American-supplied Patriot systems, which are crucial to defending cities from Russian air attacks, according to Patrick Bury, a warfare expert at the U.K.‘s University of Bath.

“The problem is, a lot of what the U.S. provides is the stuff that Europe cannot, and other countries cannot, provide in the short term — high-end stuff," he said.

Ukraine has stockpiles of artillery shells and other munitions, and has ramped up domestic production of drones, which are now among the most important weapons in the war. It’s estimated that just over half of the military hardware used by Ukraine is domestically produced.

Chalmers, the RUSI expert, said the Ukrainians have built up their defense production and “are innovating at an incredible rate because of the pressure they’re under.”

“I think they will survive for quite some time,” he said. “But it’s a material blow, and it’s also a challenge to Europe.”
Can Ukraine’s other allies step up?

A summit in London on Sunday was aimed at getting European leaders to step up and put Ukraine in the best possible position before potential peace talks.

The U.K. announced that it would use 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) in export financing to supply 5,000 air defense missiles. The European Union has proposed an 800 billion-euro ($841 billion) plan to bolster the defenses of EU nations and provide Ukraine with military muscle.

But Samir Puri, director of the Center for Global Governance and Security at international affairs think tank Chatham House, said that European and American aid are intertwined.

“This was always a joint effort,” he said. “The U.S. gives a lot, the Europeans give a lot. You take away the Americans from that joint effort and … there’s just a huge component missing to the structure.”

#Russia against stationing European peacekeepers in #Ukraine — envoy. Ulyanov also emphasized that "European officials are putting the cart before the horse," when they discuss sending peacekeepers to Ukraine.


Russia is categorically against deploying European peacekeepers to Ukraine, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s Permanent Representative to international organizations in Vienna, said.

"The idea of hypothetically stationing European peacekeepers in Ukraine is, to put it mildly, highly questionable at least for two reasons. First of all, the European Union is biased while the peacekeepers must be unbiased. Secondly, Russia categorically opposes this," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

Ulyanov also emphasized that "European officials are putting the cart before the horse," when they discuss sending peacekeepers to Ukraine.

White House confirms suspending military aid to #Kiev. According to Reuters, "the official said the US is pausing and reviewing aid to ensure it is contributing to a solution".


A White House official has confirmed the suspension of military aid to Ukraine, Reuters reported.

According to the news agency, "the official said the US is pausing and reviewing aid to ensure it is contributing to a solution."

Bloomberg and Fox News reported that the pause will last until US President Donald Trump determines that the Kiev regime demonstrates a "good-faith commitment to peace."

"The President has been clear that he is focused on peace," the official said. "We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well," he explained.

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US not planning to sign minerals deal with Ukraine — treasury secretary
"It is impossible to have an economic deal without a peace deal," Scott Bessent said.

The US administration is no longer looking at signing a rare earths and other minerals agreement with Ukraine, US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said.

"It is impossible to have an economic deal without a peace deal. The sine qua non for an economic deal, is that Ukrainian leadership wants a peace deal," he said in an interview with the CBS television channel.

When asked whether the deal is still on the table, he said, "Not at present."

On February 28, Zelensky arrived at the White House for a meeting with US President Donald Trump. Their televised exchange, with reporters present, unraveled into a shouting match, with Trump scolding Zelensky for being disrespectful to the US, and Vice President JD Vance noting that Zelensky had not ever said a "thank you" for all the support provided to Kiev. A news conference scheduled to follow the meeting was canceled, and Trump posted a statement on the Truth Social media platform saying that Zelensky was disrespectful and not ready for peace.

Zelensky’s visit was to yield a minerals agreement between the US and Ukraine. According to Reuters that cites a White House official, the decision to cancel the ceremony was made by the US leader.

Russian forces pound Ukrainian military airfields in precision strike
Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicted roughly 35 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed an enemy artillery gun in its area of responsibility in the Kharkov Region over the past day, the ministry reported

#UN Security Council adopts US-drafted resolution on Ukraine conflict in its original form .

The UN Security Council has adopted the US-drafted resolution on the conflict in Ukraine in its original form, rejecting amendments by both European countries and Russia, a TASS correspondent reported.

Ten members of the Security Council, including Russia, the US and China, voted in favor of the document, while five countries, including the UK and France, abstained. To pass a resolution in the UN Security Council, a minimum of nine votes in favor and the absence of vetoes by the permanent members, that is the US, Russia, China, the UK and France, is required.

The adopted resolution is written in a neutral tone. It expresses sorrow for those killed in the Ukrainian conflict and emphasizes the UN's role in maintaining international peace and security. It also calls for an end to the conflict and the establishment of a long-term peace between Ukraine and Russia.

Before the vote on the resolution itself, the European countries tried to postpone the procedure until Tuesday, but the Security Council rejected their request. After that, a number of European countries, including France and the United Kingdom, proposed several anti-Russian amendments, some of which were blocked by Russia, while the rest did not get the required number of votes. Russia also proposed two amendments to the text of the resolution, but its amendments did not garner the required number of votes and were also rejected, while the US abstained from voting on all amendments.

Zelenskyy says he is willing to give up presidency if it means peace in #Ukraine

Who are the hostages released by #Hamas?

Eli Sharabi, 52

Eli Sharabi was taken captive by the militants from Kibbutz Beeri, a communal farm that was one of the hardest hit in the Hamas attack. His British-born wife, Lianne, and their teenage daughters, Noiya and Yahel, were killed by militants while hiding in their safe room. His brother, Yossi Sharabi, who lived next door, was killed in captivity. Hamas militants are holding his body, according to the Hostages Forum.

Eli Sharabi’s home bore marks from the attack months later. AP journalists saw bullet holes in the walls and the shattered oven and TV screens. Nearby homes were torched by militants and their roofs blasted off during fighting on Oct. 7.
Ohad Ben Ami, 56

Ohad Ben Ami, a father to three, was taken captive with his wife, Raz, from Kibbutz Beeri, where he was an accountant. Raz Ben Ami was released during the weeklong ceasefire in November 2023.

The hostages forum described Ohad Ben Ami as a “passionate nature enthusiast” and the “cornerstone of his family.”
Or Levy, 34

Or Levy was pulled out by the militants from a bomb shelter near the Nova music festival in southern Israel. His wife, Einav Levy, was killed during the attack. Their son Almog, now 3, has been in the care of relatives since the assault.

Levy was taken captive alongside American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin as well as two other hostages — Eliya Cohen and Alon Ohel. Goldberg-Polin, whose parents staged a high-profile campaign for his release, was killed in Hamas captivity.

Or Levy is from the city of Rishon Lezion, where he worked as a computer programmer for a startup.
Keith Siegel, 65

Keith Siegel, from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was abducted with his wife, Aviva Siegel, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a communal farming village heavily damaged by the attack. She was freed during the November 2023 ceasefire deal, and has campaigned across the world for the release of her husband and other hostages.

Aviva Siegel said that she was held hostage with her husband during her 51 days in captivity. She said she took comfort from having her husband by her side as they were moved from tunnel to tunnel, the two given almost no food or water. Her parting words to him were, “Be strong for me.”
Ofer Kalderon, 54

Ofer Kalderon, a French-Israeli hostage, was taken captive from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His teenage children, Sahar and Erez, were also abducted, but they were freed during the weeklong ceasefire in 2023.
Arbel Yehoud, 29

Arbel Yehoud was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from Kibbutz Nir Oz. A third-generation resident of the kibbutz, she loves science and space, and her friends held a public star gazing to mark her birthday in captivity.

Her brother, Dolev Yehoud, was killed on Oct. 7.
Agam Berger, 20

In videos of Agam Berger’s abduction, her face is covered in blood, though it’s unclear if it is from her own wound or those of other soldiers.

Berger is a violin player from a suburb of Tel Aviv who enlisted in the army just two months before the attack. Berger was released after the other female soldiers taken from the Nahal Oz military base.
Gadi Moses, 80

Gadi Moses was one of the oldest hostages who remained in captivity in Gaza.

He was taken from his home on Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the communities hardest-hit in the Hamas-led attack. The hostages forum described Moses as an expert agronomist who lectured on agriculture and helped maintain the kibbutz’s community vegetable garden.

Moses’ partner, Efrat, was killed during the attack.
Watchara Sriaoun, 33

In the Oct. 7 attack, militants overran the compound where agricultural workers lived on Kibbutz Nir Oz. Out of the 16 Thai workers living there, 11 were killed and five, including Watchara Sriaoun, were abducted.

They were among at least 31 Thai workers taken in the assault. In the November 2023 ceasefire, 23 were released in a deal negotiated between Thailand and Hamas, with assistance from Qatar and Iran.
Sathian Suwannakham, 35

Sathian Suwannakham was also taken from Nir Oz. The kibbutz has continued to advocate for the release of the Thai workers by posting regularly about them on social media, in addition to the Israeli hostages.
Surasak Rumnao, 32

Surasak Rumnao was abducted from the town of Yesha, located near the southern Gaza Strip.

His mother, Khammee Lamnao, said the Thai Embassy in Israel called her to let her know her son would be released.
Pongsak Thaenna, 36

Pongsak Thaenna was also taken from the town of Yesha. Thais make up the largest group of foreigners held in Gaza.

In the early days after the Oct. 7 attack, then-Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in phone conversations to assist the Thai hostages.
Bannawat Saethao, 27

Bannawat Saethao was also abducted from the town of Yesha.
Liri Albag, 19

Liri Albag, who was among those abducted from the Nahal Oz military base, was featured in a video Hamas released in early January, filmed under duress. Her family said the video was “difficult to watch” because of Albag’s clear emotional distress. They were particularly active in the protest movement pushing for a deal with Hamas to bring the hostages home.

“Liri, if you’re hearing us, tell the others that all the families are moving heaven and earth and want their children home, and we will fight until all hostages are returned,” her father said in a statement after the video was released.
Karina Ariev, 20

Karina Ariev was also taken from Nahal Oz.

Just before she was abducted, she she sent a message to her family, saying: “If I don’t live, take care of mom and dad all their lives. Don’t give up, live,” according to Israeli media. Her family said she loves to cook, sing, dance and write poetry.
Daniella Gilboa, 20

Also taken from Nahal Oz, Daniella Gilboa was originally named Danielle. Her parents changed it after she was taken captive, in line with a Jewish tradition that is believed to bring God’s protection.

Gilboa, from Petah Tikva, a suburb of Tel Aviv, played piano and studied music in high school. She dreams of being a singer, according to Israeli media.
Naama Levy, 20

The footage from Naama Levy’s abduction, in which she is wearing gray sweatpants covered in blood, was shown around the world.

Levy, among those taken from Nahal Oz, is a triathlete. When she was younger, she participated in the “Hands of Peace” delegation, which brings together Americans, Israelis and Palestinians to work on coexistence.
Romi Gonen, 24

Romi Gonen was taken from the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. She spoke to her family for nearly five hours as militants marauded through the festival grounds. She told them that roads clogged with abandoned cars made escape impossible and that she would seek shelter in some bushes.

Her father, Eitan Goren, said she survived in part by learning Arabic, as it was the only way to communicate with her captors. “I just enjoy being with her even in silence, touching, hugging, watching her,” he said, a week after her release. “I missed it so much.”
Emily Damari, 28

Emily Damari is a British-Israeli citizen abducted from her apartment on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. She lived in a small apartment in a neighborhood for young adults, the closest part of the kibbutz to Gaza. Militants broke through the border fence of the kibbutz and ransacked the neighborhood.

The day after her release, Emily’s mother, Mandy, said her daughter was “in high spirits and on the road to recovery.”
Doron Steinbrecher, 31

Doron Steinbrecher is a veterinary nurse who loves animals, and a neighbor to Damari in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Steinbrecher holds both Israeli and Romanian citizenship.

Steinbrecher was featured in a video released by Hamas in January 2024, along with two female Israeli soldiers. Her brother said the video gave them hope that she was alive but sparked concern because she looked tired, weak and gaunt.