President Donald Trump paused all aid to Ukraine on March 3, 2025. He is using this aid as leverage to try to force Zelensky to agree to the mineral rights deal that fell apart on Friday and push him towards a peace deal advantageous to Russia.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because Congress impeached Donald Trump for the first time in December 2019 over this same action.
Trump Administration’s Position on a Peace Deal in Ukraine
Trump has slowly pulled back support for Ukraine and begun siding with Russia.
On February 12, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gave a blunt public assessment that a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders was unrealistic and the Trump administration does not see NATO membership for Kyiv as part of a solution to the war triggered by Russia’s invasion.
On February 24, an international uproar occurred when the United States refused to back three United Nations resolutions condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. A separate U.S. proposed resolution that acknowledged “the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict” and “implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.”
This resolution never mentioned Moscow’s aggression, and after France successfully added amendments calling the war a “full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation,” it ultimately passed with the U.S. abstaining.
Withholding Aid
The disastrous conference with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on February 28 has set the stage for the current withdrawal of support. The Trump Administration’s desires for peace should be observed through a lens of Russian appeasement.
In a conference on March 3, a White House official said “President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well… We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”
By withholding aid, Trump is trying to force Ukraine back to the stalled minerals deal as well as a peace agreement with Russia without committing to any future security guarantees.
But peace to Ukraine doesn’t look the same as it does to Russia.
Desires for Peace… on Russia’s Terms
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said “this guy [Zelenskyy] doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing.”
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told Fox News, “What we don’t have right now is President Zelensky saying, ‘I am ready to take the steps necessary and have the conversations necessary and make the compromises necessary to end the fighting.’”
The Trump Administration’s statements mirror those in the Russian leadership.
At a briefing on March 3, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said to a TASS reporter:
“What happened at the White House on Friday, of course, demonstrated how difficult it will be to reach a settlement trajectory around Ukraine. The Kyiv regime and Zelenskiy do not want peace. They want the war to continue.”
“It is very important that someone forces Zelenskiy himself to change his position. Someone has to make Zelenskiy want peace. If the Europeans can do it, they should be honoured and praised.”
“The Kiev regime refuses to settle the conflict through negotiations.”
Donald Trump has shifted U.S. foreign policy to align us with Russia instead of allies we have maintained since the end of World War II.
Similarities to 2019
In 2019, the issue at hand was Trump impounding funds. This was unconstitutional as it usurped Congress’s “power of the purse”, and illegal as it violated the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Trump was ultimately acquitted in the Senate.
The move has drawn criticism from the Democrats in Congress, as well as a handful of Republicans. U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) denounced these plans.
“This is a critical time for Ukraine,” she said. “And I managed the Ukraine supplemental last year that provided additional help to Ukraine, and I do not think we should be pausing our efforts. It’s the Ukrainians who are shedding blood.”
Unfortunately, a lot of the aid we have sent Ukraine is from existing U.S. stockpiles and transferred under the Presidential Drawdown Authority. That gives the President broad cover in aid that he withholds.
We will have to wait and see if he crosses that line and repeats the events of 2019.
Sources:
US refuses to blame Russia for Ukraine war, splitting with European allies in UN votes (AP)
Hegseth says Ukraine cannot expect return to old borders, NATO membership (Reuters)
Trump Truth Social post criticizing Zelenskyy for not wanting peace: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114099480566604857
Trump pauses aid to Ukraine after fiery meeting with Zelenskyy (Fox News)
Kremlin says someone needs to force Zelenskiy to make peace after clash with Trump (Reuters)
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