The rift between Washington and Kyiv over a potential ceasefire in the war with Russia deepened on Monday as Donald Trump was said to be considering cutting military aid to Ukraine and expressed new outrage at Volodymyr Zelenskyy for saying that the end of the war could be “very, very far away”.
In a post to social media on Monday, Trump posted a link to an Associated Press story outlining Zelenskyy’s comments and said: “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US,” Trump continued.
“Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” he said. “What are they thinking?”
Later on Monday, Trump said that Zelenskyy “won’t be around very
long” unless he succumbs to pressure and makes deal on the US’s terms.
“It should not be that hard a deal to make. It could be made very fast,” Trump told reporters, referring to a ceasefire. “Now, maybe somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, and if somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long.”
The Trump administration was reported to be drawing up a plan on Monday to restore ties with Russia and lift sanctions on the Kremlin, in a sharp turn in US policy that would alarm European allies and service a broader reproachment between Russia and the US.
The state and treasury departments were said to be tasked with drawing up a list of sanctions that the US could lift as part of the administration’s broad talks with Moscow on improving diplomatic and economic relations, Reuters reported.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the Trump administration had stopped financing new weapons sales to Ukraine and is considering freezing weapons shipments from US stockpiles, in what would be a devastating blow to Ukraine’s ability to continue to defend against the Russian invasion.
Trump denied that he had discussed halting military aid to Ukraine, saying: “I haven’t even talked about that right now. I mean, right now, we’ll see what happens. A lot of things are happening right now, literally as we speak.”
The flurry of activity followed a French proposal for a partial one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine, as European efforts to bolster support for Kyiv accelerate in the face of uncertain US backing.
The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said on Monday: “Such a truce – on air, sea and energy infrastructure – would allow us to determine whether Vladimir Putin is acting in good faith” and gauge his attitude to “real peace negotiations”.
A day after European leaders rallied around Ukraine at a summit in London, Barrot added: “Never has the risk of a war in Europe, in the EU, been so high … The threat keeps getting closer to us, the frontline keeps getting closer to us.”
Zelenskyy had said that he believed a peace with Russia was far off in an interview in which he also expressed optimism about Ukraine’s partnership with the US, saying: “I think our relationship [with the US] will continue, because it’s more than an occasional relationship.”
Those remarks followed a blow-up in the Oval Office where Trump accused Zelenskyy of “gambling with” a third world war and told the Ukrainian president to come back “when he is ready for peace”.
Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron have sought to act as intermediaries between Zelenskyy and the White House as relations between Kyiv and the White House appear to be at the breaking point.
Trump’s remarks came as he planned to convene top White House officials on Monday to discuss next steps, which included reviewing the European proposal but also potentially considering a cutoff in aid to Ukraine, according to reports in the New York Times and other US media. Those set to join the briefing include the national security adviser, Michael Waltz, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the secretary of defence, Pete Hegseth.
Trump allies continued to pile pressure on Zelenskyy over the weekend, with several suggesting the Ukrainian president should consider resigning in order to provide a way forward for negotiations. Rubio and Waltz were considered to be the most hawkish of Trump’s cabinet on Russia, but have fallen in line with his and JD Vance’s criticisms of Ukraine as tensions have escalated.
Speaking to Fox on Monday morning, Waltz did not say Zelenskyy should resign, but when asked whether Zelenskyy was fit to lead Ukraine said: “What happened Friday really put that up in the air.” Earlier, he told CNN: “We need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians, and end this war … If it becomes apparent that President Zelensky’s either personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting in his country, then I think we have a real issue on our hands.”
Germany has taken the lead in questioning the US leadership under the new Trump administration. Friedrich Merz, who is likely to be Germany’s next chancellor, suggested the Oval Office spat was a trap set in advance for the Ukrainian leader. “It was not a spontaneous reaction to interventions by Zelenskyy, but obviously a manufactured escalation,” Merz said.
Merz had earlier said that it appeared the Trump administration was indifferent to the fate of Europe. “My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA,” he said in remarks last week as tensions rose between the US and Europe over a potential ceasefire negotiation with Russia.
France’s prime minister, François Bayrou, also criticised Trump’s behaviour, telling parliament: “In the Oval Office … a staggering scene unfurled before the lenses of the entire world, marked by brutality, a desire to humiliate, with the goal of making Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy fold through threats. President Zelenskyy did not fold and I think we can show him our appreciation.”
A senior European official who asked to remain anonymous said Trump now had to choose whether he wanted to call himself “a leader of the free world, or leader of an extortion gang. The latter is not interesting for Europe.”
