By The Moscow Times | Created at 2025-03-04 11:10:12 | Updated at 2025-03-04 14:03:50
2 hours ago
The Kremlin said Tuesday that the sudden suspension of U.S. military aid to Ukraine following a public clash between President Donald Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky marked a major step toward ending the war.
The pause, announced late Monday, went into effect immediately and impacted hundreds of millions of dollars of weaponry being sent to Ukraine, the New York Times reported.
"If the United States stops [military supplies], this would probably be the best step toward peace," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that it was a "solution which could really push the Kyiv regime to a peace process".
Still, Peskov said that Russia would wait to "see how the situation on the ground evolves," stressing that the U.S. had been Ukraine's main military supplier since Moscow launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainians reacted in shock on Tuesday following Trump's decision to suspend military aid, saying the move played into the Kremlin's hands.
Denys Kazansky, a Ukrainian media commentator, said that while the United States had paused support to Ukraine, "North Korea and Iran did not stop military aid to Russia."
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, meanwhile, presented a five-part plan to shore up around 800 billion euros for Europe's defense and help provide "immediate" military support for Ukraine.
"This is a moment for Europe, and we are ready to step up," von der Leyen announced in Brussels on Tuesday morning.
Britain also committed its support to Ukraine after the U.S. military aid suspension, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer staying "laser-focused" on securing peace in Ukraine, his deputy Angela Rayner said.
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