WASHINGTON, March 4, (AP): US President Donald Trump on Monday directed a "pause” to US assistance to Ukraine as he seeks to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia. The move comes just days after a disastrous Oval Office meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance tore into Zelenskyy for what they perceived as insufficient gratitude for the more than $180 billion in military aid the U.S. has sent to Kyiv since Russia invaded three years ago.

A White House official said Trump is focused on reaching a peace deal and wants Zelenskyy "committed” to that goal. The official added that the US was "pausing and reviewing” its aid to "ensure that it is contributing to a solution.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the assistance. The order will remain in effect until Trump determines that Ukraine has demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia, the official said.

The halting of military aid comes some five years after Trump held up congressionally authorized assistance to Ukraine as he sought to pressure Zelenskyy to launch an investigation into Joe Biden, then a Democratic presidential candidate. The moment led to Trump’s first impeachment. In the leadup to the 2024 election, Trump vowed a quick end to the war in Ukraine, even once boasting that he could bring a halt to the fighting in one day.

He has shown increasing frustration with Zelenskyy over the war while simultaneously expressing confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has long admired, can be trusted to keep the peace if a truce is reached. Trump earlier on Monday slammed Zelenskyy for suggesting that the end of the war likely "is still very, very far away.”

Zelenskyy had suggested it would take time to come to an agreement to end the war as he tried to offer a positive take on the US-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of last week’s White House meeting. "This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, responding to comments Zelenskyy made late Sunday to reporters.

Trump, at a White House event later Monday, referred to Zelenskyy's reported comments and asserted the Ukrainian leader "better not be right about that.” Zelenskyy later took to social media in an effort to further explain his thinking. He did not directly refer to Trump’s comments, but underscored that it "is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest possible.”