Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
U.S. President Donald Trump is considering ending ongoing shipments of military aid to Ukraine following a heated exchange in the White House between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Washington Post (WP) reported on Feb. 28, citing a senior Trump administration official.
The meeting between Trump and Zelensky ended without an agreement on a mineral deal after a 45-minute press briefing that escalated into a heated exchange over U.S. aid to Ukraine and the conditions of a potential peace deal with Russia. Trump later ordered his officials to tell the Ukrainian officials to leave the White House, despite protest from the Ukrainian delegation.
Zelensky has repeatedly urged the U.S. to continue shipping arms to Ukraine as a security guarantee that would strengthen Kyiv's position in future peace negotiations with Russia.
After taking office on Jan. 20, the Trump administration was initially inclined to stop all aid to Ukraine, but has since continued to send weapons to the embattled nation. The Trump administration has said it would not support additional weapons shipments, but has not halted weapons shipments that were started under the previous Biden administration.
Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his term freezing foreign aid funding for 90 days.
Reuters reported in early February that opposing factions within the administration had been debating whether the U.S. should continue providing weapons.
The U.S. has provided Ukraine with $65.9 billion in military aid since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The Kyiv Independent
