Brussels – The moment everyone feared, especially in Kyiv, has arrived. Donald Trump has suspended military aid for Ukraine, in what many interpreted as a move to induce Volodymyr Zelensky to accept Washington’s conditions for the agreement on critical raw materials and, more generally, to follow the White House’s initiative on peace negotiations with Russia, which, in the near future, could see some sanctions being eased by the very stars and stripes administration.
Taps turned off (for now)
With a snap of the fingers, a major portion of the flow of military aid that had been supporting the Ukrainian resistance for the past three years has been halted. The stop applies to all U.S. military equipment and munitions not yet physically in Ukraine, including those in transit.
The suspension seems temporary for now. Donald Trump is waiting to hear whether the Ukrainian leadership, starting with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, wants to commit “in good faith” to peace. That is, to the peace ventilated by the U.S. president, which should include Washington’s exploitation of Kyiv’s mineral resources but no guarantee of military security, at least not from the Pentagon.
Commenting on the Ukrainian president’s remark that an end to hostilities with Russia is still “a long way off,” the tycoon lamented that “this guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s support.” The administration announced that aid to the former Soviet republic is being rescheduled “to ensure that they contribute to a solution” to the conflict rather than prolonging it.
Means of pressure?
Ukrainians and their Western allies (those who remain) have been waiting in terror for this moment since last Friday’s diplomatic catastrophe. That is, since the White House tenant and his number two, JD Vance, finally threw off the mask by ambushing Zelensky and bullying and berating him for trying to ensure his country’s survival.
For a few days, it seemed that Washington and Kyiv could still re-establish their relationship. Over the weekend, Trump and Zelensky reiterated that the agreement was in the interests of both the United States and Ukraine. The US administration’s decision to turn off the taps could be a move to put pressure on the Ukrainian government, forcing it to enter into the minerals and hydrocarbons pact—perhaps with new terms, even more advantageous to Washington—without making further demands.
According to Trump, Zelensky “should be more grateful, because this country has stuck with them through thick and thin.” “It shouldn’t be such a difficult deal to make,” argued the tycoon, adding, “if somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long.” A veiled plea for regime change in Kyiv?
Many, starting with NATO chief Mark Rutte, are urging the Ukrainian president to publicly apologise for daring to respond to the false accusations made against him on world television, to reconcile relations with the U.S. administration as soon as possible. Behind the scenes, European bridgebuilders, Giorgia Meloni and Keir Starmer in the lead, are feverishly at work to mend the rift and restore transatlantic relations disrupted by the first month of the Trump bis.
Ease sanctions
But it does not end there. At the same time, Trump is reportedly aiming to suspend some of the sanctions that his predecessors Joe Biden and Barack Obama had imposed against Russia (illegal Russian actions in Ukraine began in 2014, during Obama’s second term, with the unilateral annexation of Crimea and support for Donbas separatists).
The White House has instructed the State and Treasury Departments to draw up a list of restrictive measures that could be eased. This is a tangible sign of goodwill on Washington’s part toward Moscow, as part of the distancing of relations between the two global superpowers that followed the tycoon’s inauguration. It is not yet clear what areas might be affected by the revision of the U.S. sanctions regime, but many of the oligarchs close to the Kremlin as well as the oil production of the Federation could be involved.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (photo: Sergei Ilnitsky/Afp)
After threatening his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin with increased sanctions if he did not agree to sit at the negotiating table to stop the conflict in the former Soviet republic, the U.S. president has changed his approach and now seems to prefer the carrot to the stick. He still uses the stick: but with Kyiv, rather than Moscow.
For its part, Moscow has already opened up to economic cooperation with the post-Biden United States. Recently, it even offered Washington a collaboration on extracting rare earths from its deposits after the sinking of the agreement with Ukraine. As Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov stressed, the new star-studded foreign policy “is largely aligned with our vision” of the world. No less.
Hiding the heads in the sand
No major news seems to be on the horizon on this side of the Atlantic, despite the speed and depth of these changes. The maxi-package of €20 billion in military aid advocated for in recent days by the EU High Representative Kaja Kallas has disappeared from the radar and will not be discussed at the extraordinary European Council scheduled for the day after tomorrow (March 6), where nevertheless the leaders of the Twenty-Seven will discuss defence and Ukraine.
We are living in dangerous times.
Europe‘s security is threatened in a very real way.
Today I present ReArm Europe.
A plan for a safer and more resilient Europe ↓ https://t.co/CYTytB5ZMk
– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) March 4, 2025
The chairwoman of the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen, unveiled just this morning an 800 billion plan to rearm the Old Continent. However, member states will use this money for their own armed forces. For Kyiv, at least for now, nothing is on the table. This is yet another victory for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who, with his Slovak colleague Robert Fico, has always put a spoke in Brussels’ wheels whenever it tried to support Ukrainian resistance to Russian aggression.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
![Il vertice dei leader europei organizzato a Londra per fare il punto sull'Ucraina [Londra, 2 marzo 2025. Foto: European Council]](https://www.eunews.it/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/london-summit-350x250.jpg)
