A day after President Trump ordered the suspension of American military aid, Ukrainian diplomats and politicians scramble on Tuesday to find a way to save their alliance with Washington, with the possibility that a war-tired nation could have to fight without US support.
With the White House and the Kremlin increasingly aligned, Ukraine was trying to strengthen support from its European allies. Military authorities were assessing how long Ukraine's own stockpile would last until the situation led to a key gap in front of it.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not directly comment on the aid halt affecting pipeline and order's weapons and ammunition to more than $1 billion, but he convened senior civilians and military leaders to discuss “special issues regarding our national recovery.”
“We are working on every possible scenario to protect Ukraine,” he said in his evening speech on Monday. “The baseline scenario is to maintain a position for proper diplomacy and create conditions for proper diplomacy.
“We need peace – true, fair peace – endless wars, and security guarantees,” Zelensky said in a comment aimed at dealing with President Trump's accusations that he doesn't want peace.”
An emergency meeting in the Ukrainian parliament was convened on Tuesday to assess the impact of the latest pressure from the Trump administration, but trench soldiers have been awakened to the news that an already tough war could become even more challenging and brutal.
The decision to suspend aid delivery comes three days after an explosive meeting at the White House, where Trump denounced Zelensky and called him ungrateful.
There were cries of betrayal on the streets and in the halls of the Ukrainian government. However, there was more sadness and distrust than anger.
The first thing that came to mind when I heard the news was the phrase President Franklin D. Roosevelt said in an interview that Olexandre Melecko, chairman of the Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee, said in an interview, “This date is infamous.” “It was kind of Pearl Harbor, political Pearl Harbor for us.”
It's even more painful, Mereziko said, “When you think that's not from your enemies, but as you're your friend.”
“This is terrible,” he added. “It's like the worst betrayal.”
Mykhailo Samus, deputy director of the Ukrainian Army, Conversation and Disarmament Research Center, an independent institution, said the cut-off to aid “means that the US is carrying out a joint operation with Russia to force Ukraine.
“The outcome will hit the US position as a former leader in the West,” he added.
The impact on Ukraine is also serious and will grow over time, Samus said. But “if Trump thinks there's some sort of switch to turn off Ukrainian troops, or if his advisors think,” Samus adds, and the administration fundamentally misunderstands why Ukrainians are fighting, their willingness to continue and the current dynamics on the battlefield.
It was a rush to defend Ukraine on Tuesday morning to convene in Brussels to discuss both support for Kiev and the urgent need for Europe to enhance its own military capabilities.
“This is a European moment and we have to endure it,” said Ursula von der Leyen, who heads the enforcement division of the European Union in 27 countries.
Appearing in Brussels, she proposed a new programme that would provide 150 billion euro loans to member states to fund defence investments.
British deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said the suspension of American military aid to Ukraine was a “very serious moment.” However, she told the BBC that Prime Minister Kiel Starmer will continue to work with the US, Europe and Ukraine to achieve lasting peace.
Asked last week if she would regret codying with Trump and an invitation to visit her second state, Starmer said she would “don't choose between the US or Europe.”
The Kremlin was, of course, delighted with the latest news.
“If that's true, this is a decision that can really push the Kiev government into the peace process,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry S. Peskov told reporters.
“It's clear that the United States is the main supplier of this war,” he added. “If the US stops these supplies, I think this will be our best contribution to peace.”
However, Ukrainians and Western military analysts said the move could provide further incentives to continue the fight, rather than speeding up the end of the war. They pointed out that it was Putin who started the war, and that his army was running an attack, albeit slowly.
Malcolm Chalmers, assistant director of the Royal United Services Institute, a London research group, said: “Indeed, this decision would encourage Putin to seek more, including demilitarization and neutrality in Ukraine.”
This suspension will stop the delivery of interceptor missiles to Patriots and NASAMS air defense systems. It saves an invaluable number of lives as it provides the optimal shielding for Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure from missile and drone attacks.
Military analysts and Ukrainian officials say they are in a better position to maintain war effort than in late 2023, when Kiev halted support for months, but the move could grow over time.
Liubov Sholudko, Kim Barker, Jeanna Smialek and Stephen Castle Reports of contributions.
