Trump pulls Ukraine aid: ‘This isn’t a peace plan. This is diplomacy by naughty step’

Read time: 5 mins

In brief…

• The US president said that Volodymyr Zelensky has no interest in peace in Ukraine, before pausing all American aid to the country, now in its third year of invasion from Putin’s forces.
• A defence expert tells The News Agents that the most pressing concern for the people of Ukraine is whether the pause in US aid also relates to the Elon Musk-owned Starlink, which is used in the conflict against Russian aggressors.
• The News Agents are “sick” of hearing about how President Trump wants to bring peace to the region, believing all he wants is to take as much from the country as he can – and for payback to his recent televised humiliation, when tempers flared in the Oval Office during a meeting with Zelensky.

What's the story?

Donald Trump has made no secret of his ambition of ending the war in Ukraine – but he never said he would do it in a way that made life better for anyone living in the war-torn country.

Having already excluded President Zelensky from peace talks with Russian leader Vladimir Zelensky, Donald Trump has now paused US aid to Ukraine, estimated to have totalled almost $120 billion since Putin's troops first invaded.

Trump has claimed this number is closer to $350 billion, but there is no evidence to support his figures.

The pause in US aid affects weapons, vehicles and other shipments of aid approved by Joe Biden's administration. A member of Trump's administration told Fox News it was not a "permanent termination" of aid.

It comes just days after Trump and Zelensky clashed in the Oval Office, as the president and vice president JD Vance challenged him on a perceived lack of gratitude for US support during Russia's invasion.

Hours before the official pause in US aid, Donald Trump had criticised Zelensky for stating he believed the end of the war could be "very, very far away".

Trump claimed Zelensky has no interest in peace in Ukraine, and suggested the country was unable to defend itself without US support.

Additionally, Vance has criticised Europe's response to the ongoing crisis – to offer more support to Zelensky, corralled by Keir Starmer, saying it is simply an effort to "puff him up".

What the experts say

Defence journalist, author and editor Shashank Joshi tells The News Agents that the real issue with the withdrawal of US aid is how it impacts Ukrainian communications, such as the Starlink system, which is owned by Elon Musk. There are an estimated 42,000 Starlink units in Ukraine, which work to offer internet access on the move, from portable devices the size of a backpack.

"If it does include those things, then I think we would see the results immediately on the battlefield," Joshi says.

"Ukraine would have a disruption to its communications. It would have less situational awareness of Russian military threats.

"It would have less ability to target those threats with its own missiles."

If not, he says there won't be an immediate effect seen in Ukraine's military capacity – but long term, it could have devastating effects on its war effort.

"Currently, Ukraine and Russia are about 50/50 in artillery fire," Joshi adds.

"But if there's a long term disruption to US aid, that could change in Russia's favour, and Ukraine would begin to suffer many more casualties, and Russia could find it easier to advance."

He believes the pause will last until Zelensky returns to an idea of peace that aligns with America aims.

What’s The News Agents’ take?

MAGA supporters and White House insiders claim all Donald Trump wants is to bring peace to Ukraine.

Lewis Goodall says he’s “sick” of hearing this line repeated by the president’s supporters.

“We shouldn't be talking about a Trump peace plan. This is a Trump plan to make the war longer,” he says.

“What Trump has done in the last six weeks is basically remove all of the substantial leverage that the United States had over Russia, all of the things that might have brought Putin to the table.

“Trump – the self styled master negotiator – has basically given away every card he has, and in those circumstances, why would Putin stop the war? The only circumstances now in which Putin would stop the war is if he gets every single thing that he wants.”

Since Trump returned to The White House, the US voted with Russia at the UN to oppose the motion condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he has ordered the US treasury to look into what sanctions against Russia can be lifted, and called for elections in Ukraine – which has long been a talking point favoured by Putin.

Meanwhile US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth has ordered an end to cyber-ops against Russia.

"I don't think we should look at this as a peace plan from Trump. This is diplomacy by naughty step," says Emily Maitlis.

"Trump is pissed at Zelensky. We know that from everything we saw on Friday night, he's still after an apology. He's still after gratitude. He's still after something from Zelensky that looks like submission.

"Trump wants to see this man on his knees, and this is the firmest, quickest, simplest way of making Zelensky come begging back to the Oval Office right now."

But, considering how much Trump is now asking from Zelensky, the big question is why Ukraine would now concede to these demands, when it could have given up the same access and land to Russia three years ago when it first invaded.

"All of this raises the question: Is Donald Trump interested in peace in Ukraine, or surrender from Ukraine?" Jon Sopel asks.

"There is no corollary of pressure being put on the Russian side, far from it."

Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.