The Kremlin said on Tuesday that pausing U.S. military aid to Ukraine would be the best contribution to the cause of peace, but cautioned that Russia needed to clarify the details of the move by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was cautious on reports of a pause in U.S. aid and said the details needed to be seen.
“It is obvious that the United States has been the main supplier of this war so far,” said Peskov. “If the United States stops … or suspends these supplies, it will probably be the best contribution to the cause of peace.”
Peskov said that Russia welcomed Trump’s statements about his wish for peace in the region.
“We hear his statement about his desire to bring peace to Ukraine, and this is welcome. We see certain things and receive certain information about the proposed actions in this direction. This is also welcome. But we will continue to see how the situation develops in reality,” Peskov said.
Front Burner29:37An obituary for the post-war order
Ukraine lawmaker fears ‘capitulation’
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, with Russian-backed separatist forces fighting Ukraine’s armed forces.
Russia currently controls about one-fifth of Ukraine, about 113,000 square kilometres, while Ukraine controls about 450 square kilometres of Russia, according to open source maps of the war and Russian estimates.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s key message to the U.S. was all but drowned out when an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump devolved into a public shouting match. CBC’s Ellen Mauro cuts through the chaos of that day to reveal what Ukraine was really after and how a history of diplomatic disappointment has left the country desperate for U.S. security guarantees.
Trump has paused military aid to Ukraine following a clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, according to the White House late Monday. Zelenskyy and a delegation were in Washington to sign the framework of a deal to create an investment fund with the U.S. as part of an effort to extract minerals in Ukraine.
Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Tuesday that Ukraine’s military has the means to maintain the situation on the front line with Russian forces.
“We will continue to work with the U.S. through all available channels in a calm manner,” Shmyhal told a news conference.
Oleksandr Merezhko, head of Ukraine parliament’s foreign affairs committee, expressed his concerns.
“On the surface, this looks really bad,” said Merezhko. “It looks like [Trump] is pushing us toward capitulation, meaning [accepting] Russia’s demands. To stop aid now means to help Putin.”
EU plots joint defence spending
European leaders will be under pressure to increase defence spending as a result of the U.S. decision.
The European Commission proposed on Tuesday new joint European Union borrowing to lend to EU governments to boost Europe’s defence capabilities.
“Europe is ready to assume its responsibilities. Europe could mobilize close to 800 billion euros [$227.5 billion Cdn] for a safe and resilient Europe. We will continue working closely with our partners in NATO. This is a moment for Europe. And we are ready to step up,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The Current19:37Has Trump chosen Russia over Europe?
U.S. President Donald Trump and his vice-president J.D. Vance publicly berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Oval Office on Friday in an exchange that shocked the world. We look at how global alliances are shifting under Trump, and what it all means for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion.
Von der Leyen did not give a detailed timeframe, but the joint borrowing would go toward building capabilities in air and missile defence, artillery systems, missiles and ammunition, drones and anti-drone systems, as well as cyber operations, the Commission said.
EU leaders will discuss the proposal at a special summit devoted to defence spending on Thursday.
Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he had discussed further co-operation with Germany Friedrich Merz, likely the next chancellor after last week’s election.
“We remember that Germany is the leader in supplying air defence systems to Ukraine and plays a crucial role in ensuring our financial stability,” Zelenskyy said on X after the call with Merz.
Several European leaders expressed disappointment with the American decision.
Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said a U.S. pivot toward Russia is unlikely to bring an end to the war.
Valtonen said she was also “a little bit concerned” by a recent U.S. order to pause offensive cyber operations against Russia during negotiations aimed at ending the Ukraine war.
“This is probably part of the grand strategy that the White House has chosen to see if this course of action can lead to peace, effectively appeasing Russia and putting some pressure on Ukraine,” Valtonen said at an event Tuesday in London. “In my personal view, it should be exactly the other way around, and I trust that President Trump and his team will notice in due course that this probably doesn’t work.”
Democrat slams decision
Trump has been critical of Ukraine well before Zelenskyy became president, claiming that officials there interfered in the 2016 U.S. election. The claims were dismissed as a conspiracy theory, and both a special counsel report and a Republican-led congressional report established that Russia interfered in that election.
In his first term as American president, Trump suggested to Zelenskyy in a phone call that the Ukrainian leader should co-operate in efforts to discredit political rival Joe Biden. U.S. aid to Ukraine was delayed, Democrats impeached Trump for what they said was a quid pro quo, and Trump was eventually acquitted in the Senate on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton speaks with Ukraine’s former Minister of Economic Development, Tymofiy Mylovanov, about the Trump-Zelenskyy clash in the Oval Office and what it means for the relationship between the two countries moving forward.
As well, before becoming president a second time, Trump in 2023 encouraged Republicans in Congress to withhold military aid to Ukraine.
Questions over Trump’s connections to Putin have hung over him since his 2016 presidential run, and it was later learned that while campaigning then, discussions on a Trump Tower project in Moscow were taking place with Russian officials.
In July 2018, while standing alongside Putin in Helsinki, Trump appeared to embrace the Russian leader’s claims over U.S. intelligence officials with respect to election interference two years earlier.
Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate’s foreign relations committee, said late Monday in a statement that Trump “has kicked the door wide open for Putin to escalate his violent aggression against innocent Ukrainians.”
Trump addresses Congress on Tuesday night, six weeks into a tumultuous term defined not just by his statements and actions toward Ukraine, but also attempts to immediately slash the federal bureaucracy through a group advised by billionaire Elon Musk, as well as the application of steep tariffs on American allies, including Canada..
