U.S. President Donald Trump has privately made it clear to his aides that he will not resume providing military aid and intelligence to Ukraine even if Kyiv and Washington sign a minerals deal, NBC News reported on March 9, citing an unnamed Trump administration official and another American official.
U.S. and Ukrainian delegations are planning to meet in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 11 to discuss the framework for a potential peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
Trump wants to see a change in President Volodymyr Zelensky's stance toward peace talks with Russia and a willingness to make concessions such as giving up occupied territories to Russia, the sources told NBC News.
The U.S. president also reportedly wants Zelensky to make some steps toward elections in Ukraine and possibly step down.
The news comes amid rising tensions between Ukraine and the U.S., as Trump escalates pressure on Zelensky to expedite a peace process.
The tensions culminated in a confrontation during a meeting in the White House Oval Office on Feb. 28 after Zelensky had flown to the U.S. to sign a minerals agreement with the U.S. After being insulted by Trump and his Vice President JD Vance, Zelensky returned to Ukraine without signing the deal.
Since that meeting, Washington has halted its military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
Previously, Trump called Zelensky a "dictator," echoing Russian narratives about the democratically elected Ukrainian leader's legitimacy.
Elections are banned in Ukraine during martial law, which has been in force since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
Politico reported that Trump's team has been leading secret talks with former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko and another opposition leader, Yuliia Tymoshenko. The two opposition leaders reportedly tried to position themselves as more flexible partners for the U.S. than Zelensky.
Following the Oval Office clash, Zelensky's approval rating has risen to 68%, according to a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology published on March 7.
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