U.S. says it's pausing all military aid to Ukraine

Move comes days after contentious meeting between Trump and Zelensky

- Nancy A. Youssef, Alexander Ward & Jared Malsin

The U.S. will pause all military aid to Kyiv until President Trump determines that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is making a good-faith effort toward peace negotiations with Russia, according to a White House official.

"The president has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution," a White House official said in a statement.

The White House didn't announce under what conditions the U.S. would resume military aid, which drew from U.S. stockpiles, or whether it would be at the same pace. While there isn't a clear understanding of what Washington wants from Kyiv, the move was the most demonstrative shift yet from Ukraine's once top ally.

A senior administration official said all of Trump's top national security advisers agreed with the decision to pause the aid after several meetings on the issue. Trump, enraged by Zelensky's comments that he thought the end of the war was far away, felt the need to show he was serious about getting Ukraine to the peace table.

"The Ukrainians didn't think we were serious," the administration official said. "We had to make a demonstration."

The official said Trump would decide what constitutes Ukraine showing that it is serious about peace talks, adding that it is unclear whether Zelensky signing a rare-minerals deal sought by the Trump administration would be enough to restart arms deliveries.

The U.S. decision comes days after a contentious meeting between Trump and Zelensky at the White House. The tense exchange Friday raised fears across Europe that the U.S. could be moving away from the wider Western alliance.