President Donald Trump has paused military aid to Ukraine following his dispute with Ukrainian President Zelensky last week.
It comes after the pair clashed at the White House on Friday, in which Trump criticised 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."
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 Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer!"
LATEST ON THE WAR IN UKRAINE
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey wrote on X: "By suspending all military aid to Ukraine, Donald Trump has humiliated the people who pretended he was a reliable ally only in search of peace.
"The UK and Europe must seize frozen Russian assets to resist Putin’s unjust and savage war."
Razom for Ukraine, a Ukrainian advocacy group, condemned the White House's decision on aid. The group said in a statement: "By abruptly halting military assistance to Ukraine, President Trump is hanging Ukrainians out to dry and giving Russia the green light to keep marching west."
France, Britain and potentially other European countries have offered to send troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire - something Moscow has already rejected - but say they would want support from the US, or a "backstop."
However, the Hungarian government, a vocal critic of EU sanctions against Moscow and the bloc's financial and military support for Ukraine, praised the US stance.
A Budapest spokesman said: "The US President and the Hungarian government share the same stance: instead of continuing weapons shipments and the war, a ceasefire and peace talks are needed as soon as possible."
It comes as the Ukrainian air force shot down 65 out of 99 drones launched by Russia overnight. Another 32 drones were "lost" and did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, the military added.
It did not say what happened to the remaining two drones.
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It comes after the pair clashed at the White House on Friday, in which Trump criticised 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."
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 Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer!"
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Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey wrote on X: "By suspending all military aid to Ukraine, Donald Trump has humiliated the people who pretended he was a reliable ally only in search of peace.
"The UK and Europe must seize frozen Russian assets to resist Putin’s unjust and savage war."
Razom for Ukraine, a Ukrainian advocacy group, condemned the White House's decision on aid. The group said in a statement: "By abruptly halting military assistance to Ukraine, President Trump is hanging Ukrainians out to dry and giving Russia the green light to keep marching west."
France, Britain and potentially other European countries have offered to send troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire - something Moscow has already rejected - but say they would want support from the US, or a "backstop."
However, the Hungarian government, a vocal critic of EU sanctions against Moscow and the bloc's financial and military support for Ukraine, praised the US stance.
A Budapest spokesman said: "The US President and the Hungarian government share the same stance: instead of continuing weapons shipments and the war, a ceasefire and peace talks are needed as soon as possible."
It comes as the Ukrainian air force shot down 65 out of 99 drones launched by Russia overnight. Another 32 drones were "lost" and did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, the military added.
It did not say what happened to the remaining two drones.
Find Out More...