Policy

Trump explains why he froze military aid to Ukraine

US President Donald Trump has explained that he froze military aid to Ukraine, including supplies of ammunition for air defense systems, because he is not sure that the Ukrainian side wants to negotiate peace.

He expressed this belief during a conversation with journalists at the White House, Ukrinform reports , Komersant ukrainskyi reports.

“Because I need to know that they want to negotiate,” Trump said in response to a question about why not provide Ukraine with air defense systems.

Secondly, he said, the issue of financing assistance to Ukraine remains relevant.

“We give $350 billion, and Europe gives $100 billion, they (European countries – ed.) should give as much or more than we do,” Trump continued.

In this regard, the US President noted that he had been watching Europe over the past week. According to him, “it could end up in World War III if we don’t get this resolved.” The American president expressed the opinion that no one in Europe knows how to end the war and that only he can do it.

“I’ve always had a good relationship with Putin. And, you know, he wants to end the war – he wants to end it. And I think he will be more generous than he should be. And that’s a very good thing,” Trump said, speaking warmly of Putin several times and calling him “Vladimir.”

In response to a question about the possibility of security guarantees for Ukraine, Trump said that before even thinking about it, he wants a settlement to take place first.

“Because if I’m not there (in this process – ed.), no one will solve it,” he said.

In addition, the US President expressed his belief that the issue of further security is a simple component, and the most difficult, according to him, is the settlement.

The journalist also asked Trump whether he thought Putin was taking advantage of the current pause in the provision of intelligence and military assistance from the United States to strike at Ukraine.

Trump replied that Putin is “doing what anybody else would do in this situation.”

“I think he wants to stop it and settle it. And I think he’s hitting them harder than they’ve been hitting him. And I think anybody in that situation would do that right now,” the US president said.

In his opinion, Putin wants to end the war, and he will be “more generous than he should be.”

US President Donald Trump’s anger at Russia is growing

According to Axios, US President Donald Trump’s anger at Russia is growing because of its behavior and constant shelling of Ukraine.

The publication points out that the escalation of Russian strikes on Ukraine continues while Trump calls for a ceasefire.

In addition, the US president threatened Russia with large-scale sanctions in the banking sector and tariffs until a ceasefire and a final agreement on a peaceful settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian war are reached.

He said that as of today, Russia is “absolutely beating Ukraine on the battlefield” and therefore called on both sides to come to the negotiating table.

“Russia and Ukraine, come to the table right now before it’s too late,” Trump added.

According to Axios, this is the first time since taking office that the head of the White House has publicly threatened Russia.

As a reminder, a meeting between the Ukrainian and American delegations is scheduled for March 12. The central topic will be “the path to peace,” according to Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi.

Earlier, Bloomberg wrote that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump told European officials that it wants to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine by Easter, which this year falls on April 20.