Ukraine-Russia war live: Trump pauses military aid to Kyiv after clash with Zelensky – UK Times

Donald Trump has put an abrupt halt on all US military aid being dispatched to war-hit Ukraine following his clash with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky last week.

“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,” a White House official said on Monday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The White House had no immediate comment on the scope and amount of aid affected or how long the pause would last. The Pentagon could not provide further details.

However, shortly before cutting the military aid, Mr Trump ranted on his Truth Social platform against Ukraine’s war-time president, stating that Mr Zelensky should be more appreciative of American support.

Mr Zelensky also said the end of the war is “very, very far away”.

“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

When Donald Trump won the election last year, sage heads nodded and said: “Well, he is right that Europe should shoulder more of the burden of its own defence.” Now we know what that means – and the burden may be harder to bear than we thought.

Mr Trump is engaged in appeasement, and the world must say so. He is selling out the values of the American republic. It was founded on the right of people to determine their own future, and the US has sought to stand by that principle in international affairs. It has not always done it well, but never before has the president of the US disdained that principle explicitly and told a brave nation fighting for its survival that it would be better if it gave up. “Leader of the free world” no more.

Read The Independent’s view here:

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has said his country is ready to assist Ukraine and open to considering proposals of sending troops to the war-hit nation for peacekeeping efforts.

“There’s a discussion at the moment about potential peacekeeping and from my government’s perspective, we’re open to consideration of any proposals going forward,” Mr Albanese said, in a departure from his earlier stance of being against sending troops to Ukraine.

Mr Albanese pointed to the country’s historic peacekeeping efforts, which have played a role in stabilising several other overseas countries in recent decades.

“As a start, Australia has historically played an important role in areas, including in Africa, in Cyprus, in a range of peacekeeping areas,” he said.

Russia-US negotiations on Ukraine are unlikely to begin before the diplomatic missions of the two countries resume full work, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of Vladimir Putin, told RIA state news agency in remarks published today.

“Unlikely,” Mr Peskov told RIA in response to a question whether the negotiations could start before the work of the embassies resumes.

An estimated 620,000 Russian soldiers are currently operating on the frontlines inside Ukraine and Russia’s Kursk oblast, according to a senior Ukrainian military intelligence official.

The figure represents a rise of 40,000 troops compared to the equivalent figure in late 2024, Ukrainian main military intelligence directorate (GUR) deputy head Major General Vadym Skibitskyi said.

Of the total figure of 620,000, about 200,000 are actively engaged in fighting on the frontlines, he said.

There are roughly 35,000 additional Rosgvardia troops protecting rear areas of the battlefield and can switch to become a second line of defence if necessary, he said in an interview with RBK-Ukraine.

When one of Peter Mandelson’s predecessors as British ambassador to the United States asked what his mission entailed, he was told that it was quite simply to “get up the arse of the White House and stay there”.

The diplomat given this remit was Sir Christopher Meyer back in 1997. The man dishing out such succinct advice was Jonathan Powell, then Tony Blair’s chief of staff and now reborn as a consiglieri and national security adviser to Keir Starmer.

One wonders if Jonathan has offered similar advice to Lord Mandelson about his Washington posting. If so, then Mandelson has taken it a bit too far.

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JD Vance has said Trump administration officials are already in talks with Russian to end the war in Ukraine.

The US vice president warned that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky needs to enter negotiations with Moscow and accept Donald Trump’s terms for a mineral rights deal.

Asked whether Mr Trump would welcome Mr Zelensky back to sign the deal that was left on the table last week, Mr Vance told Fox News host Sean Hannity that the Ukrainian leader would be allowed back if he “had a serious proposal for how he was going to engage in the process”.

“There are details that really matter, that we’re already working on with the Russians. We’ve already talked to some of our allies, he needs to engage seriously on the details,” he said.

The UK “shouldn’t be talking” of giving Donald Trump another state visit in light of the “unacceptable” scenes in the Oval Office, John Swinney has said.

Scotland’s First Minister also said there needs to be an “honest debate” about taxation in light of the increase to defence spending.

He has called on the offer of a state visit to the UK to be rescinded unless the US president gives “full scale” backing to Ukraine.

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Events in the Oval Office have made a European force an inevitability. The coalition of the willing is the first step in renewed European consensus. While America’s technological edge cannot be replaced overnight, boosting Ukrainian supplies is a first step in preventing further advances by an emboldened Russia.

The unpredictability of Trump and future Maga successors means it is time to start planning for more integrated European military cooperation that boosts our shared economies. The UK’s SDSR (strategic defence and security review) this year must address this.

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