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What Trump’s Pause on Military Aid Means for Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine's president, US President Donald Trump, and Vice President JD Vance during a meeting in the Oval Office on Feb. 28, 2025.Photographer: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg

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By Aliaksandr Kudrytski and Henry Meyer

March 6, 2025 at 12:16 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

US President Donald Trump has long said he would negotiate a quick end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. In pursuit of a deal, the US has engaged with the Kremlin while pressuring Kyiv to support the peace initiative.

Trump has made US support for Ukraine conditional on its government handing over a large chunk of the nation’s natural resources for American companies to exploit. Such an agreement was left hanging in the balance after a fiery meeting in the White House escalated already tense relations between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.