American military aid to Ukraine was stopped so abruptly that planes carrying weapons were ordered to turn around in the sky.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instigated an argument with President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance during a meeting in the Oval Office last week, and the consequences could be massive for the war-torn country.
The Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday that Trump ordered a pause on all aid to the Eastern European nation, with all assistance officially coming to a stop as of Monday evening, according to USA Today.
One official reportedly said that planes en route delivering aid would have to turn around midflight.
If the pause on aid continues, the move will kneecap Ukraine’s ability to continue defending itself from Russia in a war that has extended longer than three years.
The United States has by far contributed the most to the Ukrainian war effort out of any single country.
One federal interagency group estimates the amount of total aid to be $183 billion as of Dec. 31, while European Union institutions have contributed $52.1 billion and individual European countries have sent a combined $60.4 billion.
By the tally of Reuters, America has spent $65 billion on military aid specifically, primarily through the Presidential Drawdown Authority and the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
The former program allowed now-former President Joe Biden, and now allows Trump, to approve transfers of equipment from American stockpiles to foreign countries without the approval of Congress.
Should the United States support Ukraine with arms?
The latter is a partnership between defense contractors to manufacture more supplies for Ukraine in the long-term as the war continues.
Through the Presidential Drawdown Authority, Ukraine was expecting a shipment of armored vehicles that was not scheduled to arrive until the middle of this year, since they are currently being refurbished in Europe.
The Trump administration is meanwhile not likely to cancel the contracts made through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, perhaps choosing to keep the weapons for the American military instead, especially as our own stocks have dwindled over the past few years.
The main criticism from Trump and Vance toward Zelenskyy came from him not being realistic about his own country’s current standing against Russia — seemingly wanting to continue to war instead attempting to reach a peace agreement.
This pause on aid is effectively calling his bluff.
If Zelenskyy thinks he can fight the war indefinitely, he’s going to have to last without American money and American weapons, at least as long as the pause remains in effect.
Trump wants to make sure the American taxpayers are not treated as an infinite supply of cash for Zelenskyy in a conflict that Trump — and many others — feels should be resolved, not extended.
In other words, Zelenskyy is learning quickly that the Trump team is serious about not fighting forever wars and wanting to end this conflict.
If he desires to salvage anything of his country in the next few months or few years, Zelenskyy will need to soberly look at reality and seriously try to forge a lasting peace.
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