The Kremlin on Tuesday praised President Donald Trump’s decision to halt U.S. military aid to Ukraine, claiming the move is “the best contribution to the cause of peace.”
Trump said he was pausing U.S. aid to Ukraine on Monday after a tense meeting a few days earlier with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, where Trump berated him for not being sufficiently grateful for U.S. support. A White House official told the Associated Press the pause would remain until Ukraine had demonstrated commitment to peace talks with Russia.
Responding to Trump’s move, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “If this is true, then this is a decision that can really encourage the Kyiv regime to [come to] the peace process,” Reuters reports.
“It is obvious that the United States has been the main supplier of this war so far. If the United States stops being [an arms supplier] or suspends these supplies, it will probably be the best contribution to the cause of peace,” he added.
Peskov’s comments come after he claimed Monday that Trump’s disastrous Oval Office meeting with Zelensky—in which Vice President JD Vance also attacked Zelensky for not being thankful enough to the U.S.—showed that the Ukrainian leader would need to be forced “to change his position,” alleging that Kyiv does “not want peace.”
Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, though Trump has taken to blaming Zelensky for the conflict. Thousands of civilians and tens of thousands of soldiers are estimated to have been killed so far over the course of the three-year war. Russia currently occupies about a fifth of Ukraine.
After the White House clash last week, Zelensky left without signing a proposed agreement over mineral rights, prompting Trump to say the Ukrainian leader could return to the White House when he is “ready for peace.”
Peskov also welcomed Trump’s statements about wishing for peace in Ukraine, but said he is waiting to hear the specific details.
“We hear his statement about his desire to bring peace to Ukraine, and this is welcome,” Peskov said. “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.”
The U.S. has spent around $119 billion on the war so far, $67 billion of which is reportedly military spending.
European nations including the U.K., France and Germany are now scrambling to find the money to replace any potential long-term loss in U.S. military and financial aid to Ukraine and offset any potential losses in support for NATO.
