Ukraine’s ‘Nightmare’ Scenario: A Fight Without U.S. Aid

DEEP DIVE — For months it was a hypothetical question: Could Ukraine continue to fight if the Trump administration ends its support? Late Monday, President Trump made it an urgent reality, temporarily suspending the delivery of all U.S. military aid to Ukraine, in the latest and most substantial blow to Ukraine’s resistance against Russia.

The order came just three days after Trump’s public criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, and will affect more than $1 billion in American weapons that are in the aid pipeline. A White House official told news agencies that the hold on military aid would remain in place until President Trump determines that Ukraine is committed to peace negotiations with Russia. The suspension also temporarily halts hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid that were provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which sent funds to Ukraine that had to be spent on purchases from American defense companies.